Child of Prophecy
by Mango Tee
Summary: Naruto Uzumaki has several titles: the Most Unpredictable Shinobi, a Jinchūriki, the Toad Sage and Hero of the Hidden Leaf. Now he has to add Dimensional Traveler to that list? Well, time to shake the foundations once again.
1. Advent

1. Advent

******I don't own Naruto or Young Justice. This story was constructed for pure entertainment and nothing more**

* * *

A young woman stood in front of her bathroom mirror. There was a hollow pair of eyes that reflected back at her. They were most certainly empty that much she had figured out. A pair of emerald orbs that was hastily depleted of its natural glow. It disgusted her to see them this way.

But, she stared on nonetheless. She couldn't look away.

She moved on from her disgusting eyes to her sickly brown hair. They were unnaturally crispy and the locks sprung off to the side. She had to admit that her hygiene wasn't up to normal human standards lately. It wasn't entirely her fault, she reminded herself. Juggling between her jobs as a mother and caring for her husband took more effort than she had ever imagined.

That's right, it's not entirely my fault.

Her gaze drifted south. It perched on a tiny razor blade that seemed to shine brighter than the light bulbs. Her emerald eyes studied the jagged teeth of the blade. The serrated edge was welcoming her. The sharp teeth were speaking to her, giving her a linear solution.

That's right, it was here. Just a little prick and the pain will go away.

Three audible bangs on the white bathroom door behind her pulled her from such thoughts.

"Chelsey," A voice said from the other side of the door. "Open the damn door. I need to use the bathroom."

"In a minute," she replied. "I'm almost finished."

"You've been in there for almost half an hour!"

"It won't take too long."

A distinct snort reached her ears, "that's what you said ten minutes ago. Now, open up!"

Her heartbeat rose a little. She had been eying the razor blade for more than a minute now.

"Hold on," she tried to remain calm.

"I'm done waiting! Either you unlock the door NOW or I force it open!"

The brunette drew her head forward. Her shaking right hand picked up the inviting blade and positioned it above her left wrist. She could feel the pulse of her heartbeat reverberate all over her body. A tingling chill traveled down her spine. A set of hitching breath escaped her parched lips irregularly.

It was now or never.

A firm foot smashed the entrance wide open. Chelsey was forcefully thrown out of the bathroom. Her back collided against the surface of her mahogany drawer. The brunette didn't know her husband was capable of summoning this much strength.

In the middle of her millisecond flight, she dropped the razor blade from her right hand. A thick, calloused hand snatched the blade off the bedroom carpet.

A frown emerged on his face, "What the hell is this?"

Chelsey looked up to see a chubby, bald man with patches of black and gray hair. His round face was littered with dark and gray facial hair. His thick lips sounded his displeasure. She wasn't able to hold a calm composure under his amber eyes.

"Wait," Chelsey squeaked. "You don't understand."

"What do you mean 'I don't understand'," the bald man asked as he closed the distance between him and his wife.

"Leonard please. You're misunderstanding," she exclaimed.

"Then, enlighten me."

She croaked a wide smile, "I was just shaving my legs."

A large palm smacked against her right cheek. Chelsey winced at the stinging sensation that emitted from her face. The brunette took a moment to retrieve her courage to face her husband. His frown never left his face.

"Do you think I'm an idiot Chelsey?"

She wanted to say yes.

"Dr. Einstrom instructed you to avoid these kinds of things," Leonard examined the object in his hand.

"I know, but-"

"Then, what are you doing with this?"

"I swear," she managed hold back a few tears. "I'm just shaving…"

Her husband stared at her legs. With a chuckle, Leonard shook his head, "You're a terrible liar."

He dropped the razor blade onto her salmon colored tee shirt as he straightened his knees up. "Whatever. Do what you want to do."

He entered the bathroom and unbuttoned his jeans, "I'm done trying to save our marriage."

She remained silent as her husband tended to his needs. Words couldn't climb out of her throat. Chelsey continued to sit on the carpet with her aching back. Her emerald eyes managed to find the blade enticing once again.

Just a little prick and the pain will go away.

_No, you can do better._

Chelsey elevated herself. Where had that come from?

This was it. She had reached her limit. There was nothing better beyond what she saw. The brunette accepted that this was all she was ever going to reach.

Advancing further was just outlandish.

A complete illusion.

_You are wrong._

Chelsey heard a string of deep chuckle as her husband exited their bathroom after washing his hands. He stopped in front of her, "I guess I'll have to explain to Jack why his mother is so worthless."

Chelsey had tried to be more than what life had determined for her. When she was young, she grew up in a tiny trailer. Her mother always confined her through years of verbal and physical lessons. The brunette was raised, learning that you could never be what you dreamed to be.

Then she met her husband and saw new life that was possible for her.

Eventually, she did leave that tiny trailer of a trash she once called home. But only to replace it with a tiny apartment of a trash she now calls home.

Chelsey strived to change herself, to finally call herself worthy of her life.

A warm hand cupped her left cheek, "you make me sick."

Tears fell from her eyes.

How can she change?

_Start with him._

Leonard gasped for air. "What," he looked down to see his wife's right hand pierced his stomach. When he shifted his confused eyes upwards, he connected with a pair of depleted eyes.

A pair of depleted, lavender orbs and, for some reason, he was able to see branches of nerves at the edges of her eyes.

X-X

Dark clouds spiraled high above the Sahara Desert. A rampant cyclone manifested in a matter of minutes. Lightning surged from the vicious talons of the clouds. A pillar of light erupted at the core and a figure descended to the sea of sands.

The pillar of light continued to shine only for a few more minutes. Once it vanished, an unclothed boy with blond, spiky hair and black markings on his right arm fell to the ground. His whiskered cheeks caressed against the blazing sand.

X-X

Her wonderful husband's body fell to the ground with a delightful thud.

Her heartbeat rose as she leveled herself with Leonard's body.

Chelsey had done it. She finally accomplished what she dreamed to do all those years ago. Doctor Einstrom, her psychiatrist, was completely wrong. She didn't need to personally change anything. The problem was her husband all along.

Silly her!

The brunette studied her bloody fingers. They were warm. The crimson liquid that coated her fingers felt pleasant.

She could have stayed to enjoy her fingers more, but something pulled her up.

Chelsey felt a sweltering energy that originated eastward. She knew that it traveled far. But, the brunette needed to go over there. Something inside her was attracted towards the pulsating energy.

_Go._

How? She couldn't travel right now. Jack would be alone and she didn't have the money to spend for the necessary expenses now that the only working member of the family lay on top of his blood.

_It's okay. I'll show you._

Deciding to follow the voice in her head, the brunette opened the nearest window and climbed onto the fire escape that was attached to the side of her apartment. Leonard's wife mounted the sturdy metal railings. Butterflies danced around her stomach as she glanced what awaited for her below. Then, she tipped forward and permitted gravity to do its job. The brunette was so sure death finally caught her.

But, that wasn't the case.

Chelsey grinned as she soared through the sky.

* * *

Hey! Welcome to my Naruto/Young Justice crossover.

I actually had this idea for a while now. It began on my second semester for Gothic Literature. It was one of those days where I was ceaselessly bored to death by my professor. But, I guess its thanks to that boredom that I was able to formulate this story.

I'm actually able to spend more time writing now as my sophomore year is about to close. So, expect an update from me two weeks from now; on a Monday.

I hope you don't mind my OC. She will be take a vital role in this story; so be warned.

No pairings as of now. I haven't decided that yet.

**There won't be other characters from Naruto involved**. Sorry.

But, I do hope you like the first chapter! **And please review or PM me! I take everything you say into consideration and will answer your questions to the best of my ability.**


	2. Sahara

2. Sahara

**I don't own Naruto or Young Justice. This story was constructed for pure entertainment and nothing more.**

* * *

Bruce Wayne was glad that he was able to arrive at the Watchtower earlier than he expected. It was going to be an exceptionally busy morning. It was becoming a habit in this kind of work, he accepted. There were times where he wasn't able to leave the Watchtower for days. And, as much as he hated to admit it, that was a good sign in crime fighting. A prolonged silence meant that his enemies were plotting something diabolical which often cost more resources to be allocated. He didn't need to go back to the manor for a good night's rest. That was the purpose of the resting rooms that were built in the lower section of the floating space fortress.

There was so much to be done and little time to do it.

Recently, his responsibilities have nearly doubled in size within the Justice League. The newly assembled covert young Justice Team, or Team as it was called within the group, had been taking up most of his time. Bruce was relieved to know that there was an isolated team he could deploy when situations arise. But that was it, all of the Team members were young.

Some were too young.

Did he make the right decision all those months ago?

That question always lingered in the corner of his mind. There was that undoubting realization that him and all of the other superhero mentors are relying on the Team's help too much. A thought that once they send them out there for a field mission, one, some, or all of them, would not return.

However, the billionaire pushed those thoughts out. They served no purpose in accomplishing the mission.

Yes, all of this served the mission and there was nothing more important than that.

A rhythmic beep came from the holographic computers of the Watchtower. A warning. The League's computer had picked up a rising situation on the home planet.

Bruce tapped on the holographic buttons to receive more information.

"Batman," a tall, green humanoid figure clad in a black suit with red straps that intersected on his torso, red belt and a blue cape came to his right side. Martian Manhunter's eyes projected an impression of concern. "The League computer—"

"I'm already on it."

Imprinted on the holographic screen of the computer was a red reticule that positioned itself above the Sahara Desert. On the corner of the HUD, there was an indication of a massive energy reading. Batman cursed inwardly. There were at least a dozen explanations as to how this would have come to be. What made matters worse was that explosions were often the leading cause of such high levels.

Was it artillery?

Was it meta-humans?

The dark knight didn't forget the leaguer that stood by him, "The League's sensor arrays picked up a large energy output in the Sahara Desert."

"What could have caused such a high reading?" The Martian asked as he stared at the digital data in front of him.

"That's what I want to know too."

Martian Manhunter nodded, "Were we notified of any military presence on the area?"

"No."

Martian Manhunter stood adjacent to Batman and summoned his own holographic screen. "I will contact the nearest military air base to proceed surveying the area."

Batman faced the Martian Leaguer, "Don't. The League's systems were the one who picked it up. If we haven't received any reports of disturbance, this could just be another glitch to which we need to do an entire system flush."

A sigh escaped from the Martian's thick lips, "Red Tornado has yet to determine the origin of the computer virus."

"We've all been distracted from our main priorities lately," Batman spoke.

"The Team, the Kobra-Venom, T.O. Morrow, The Injustice League, this is turning out to be a busy year."

The dark knight didn't speak, though he made sure to nod.

"This could be merely nothing," Martian Manhunter reassured Bruce as he studied the holographic computer once more.

"Contact any near Justice League members to respond."

Bruce preferred someone who could answer right away. Leaguers like Flash, Green Lanterns, or Superman. The faster they were able to dismiss this, the better. The billionaire superhero had a list of priorities that resources were better spent on.

Batman typed on the holographic keyboard that was suspended in the air, "Watchtower to Superman."

"_Yes, Bats,_" Superman's voice clicked through the speakers. "_I read you._"

"The Watchtower sensed a disturbance in the Sahara Desert. We need you to investigate."

"_Can't, I'm a little busy right now._"

A news video appeared on the screen of Superman battling a group of robbers who were trying to escape in a white van. The man of steel was trying to make sure that the bullets wouldn't ricochet off his frame and accidentally injure any bystanders caught in a crossfire.

Martian Manhunter spoke to his right, "Flash is occupied at the moment as well and both Green Lanterns are out patrolling their designated sectors."

"Get a hold of Wonder Woman," Batman ordered.

The towering green Martian pushed a few holographic buttons. Moments later, he let out a disappointing gust of breath.

"She is out on leave. She will be attending an Amazonian ceremony. Would you still like me to call her?"

"There's a high possibility that this could merely be a bug in the system," Batman replied. "Forward the information to her through the League's message system just in case."

"What about Captain Marvel?"

It was nine thirty-seven in the morning, Eastern Standard Time. Billy would be in school right about now. Bruce couldn't get him to leave the campus even with such an understanding relative. Captain Marvel was simply out of reach as well.

"I know his schedule. He won't make it," a sigh escaped from Bruce's lips.

"What other options do we have?" Asked Martian Manhunter.

"Send the Team."

X-X

It was scorching hot.

That's what Naruto felt as he continued to lie on—what seemed to be a crater of sand. Totally bogus, he concluded as he recollected what the Kazekage had told him. The sand was not as soft as snow. In fact, the sand made Sakura's punches feel like a pillow compared to what he just went through.

The blond struggled to stand up. His partner's chakra started to envelop his entire body, healing the cuts and bruises that cracked on the surface. He felt his bones align themselves once more. His joints were a bit relaxed now as Kurama's chakra healed him mostly.

An abundant amount of questions began to fill his head. But, the one that dominated all of it had to be the absence of clothing.

Seriously, why was he naked?

The whiskered teenager lifted his left hand above his right shoulder. From his shoulder to his wrist, Naruto's right arm was covered with various, black seal-markings. Supplying chakra to one of his markings, a scroll emerged onto his left hand in a cloud of smoke. Constructing a ram handseal, Naruto was able to retrieve a necklace with nine wooden magatama beads, an orange tee shirt, a pair of black pants and matching high-top ninja sandals that he was so fond of.

It took seconds for him to get dressed.

He whipped his head around to survey his environment. And, to much of his displeasure, he stood in a sea of sands.

This was just so perfect.

What happened anyways? At first he remembered snaking through a stack of paperwork on his desk—then a black out later—he was standing in the middle of a desert. Well…it's not that he didn't mind escaping one of the most tedious responsibilities of being a Kage.

But, for him to appear randomly in a desert?

Did he subconsciously employ the Hiraishin again?

Sakura often berated him for abusing his father's prized ninjutsu. But, he couldn't help it. The Flying Thunder God was very useful in most—if not—all situation. For example, if you were already late to a council meeting but forgot to have breakfast, the Flying Thunder God was there. If your friends invited you to have dinner over their house but didn't have enough time to stop by at the store, the Flying Thunder God was there. If your best friend asked you to a double date but discovered that she was totally annoying, the Flying Thunder God was there.

Okay, so all of those were small problems. The point was, his father's Hiraishin technique was certainly flexible in a sense that it could be applied to EVERYTHING.

Though, this did seem out of the ordinary.

Why in the world did his dad put a marking all the way out here?

Was it to escape the strenuous job of signing every god forsaken paper that ever existed?

Could this barren desert serve as his personal training ground?

Did he use this to escape the infamous wrath of Konoha's Red Hot Habanero?

A bead of sweat started to gather from his temple. Yeah, that was probably it.

Naruto observed the sands below him. No, it was impossible. He couldn't feel the Hiraishin seals anywhere and he didn't remember ever visiting a desert such as this. The endless dunes just rolled through the horizon.

The young Hokage shifted his eyes towards the blue, cloudless sky. He carefully observed the position of the sun. It was still in the middle of the afternoon. Obviously, there was no way he was able to see the constellations. Navigation, Naruto thought, just got a whole lot complicated.

Forming a dragon handseal, Naruto applied a small earth pressure around his vicinity with the help of his chakra. Minutes later, he was given an answer.

He was only a few kilometers north of the equator?

The Uzumaki heir beamed audibly. This was wonderful news! What luck, really! This meant that Sunagakure was somewhere south to southeast from where he was standing.

The blond closed his eyes for a moment. Mustering all the natural chakra that was within his reach, Naruto tried to sense the direction of Sunagakure—or any village or town for that matter. He gathered all the elements around him, but abruptly opened his eyes.

There was no village hidden in the sands.

Where the hell was he?

X-X

"_Around 0930, Justice League scanners picked up a massive energy output in the Sahara Desert._"

Kaldur'ahm listened on as the whole Young Justice Team strapped themselves on the Bio-ship's chairs. They were en route to the African fields that much he had digested. Not less than a few minutes ago, He was supposed to be going through combat training with Black Canary. Then, unexpectedly, all the other members had been ushered in the cave and were immediately commanded to travel to the hottest desert on the planet.

Off to his left, the boy wonder scanned through his personal holographic computer that suspended above his left black, padded glove. "Woah! These readings are off the charts! This has got to be caused by a large explosion."

"_As far as we know, there are no confirmed military activities in the area._" Batman spoke through the holographic screens of the Bio-ship.

"Baddies in the Sahara Desert," Kid Flash observed.

Batman remained expressionless, "_Hopefully not. This could be nothing more than another bug in the League system._"

Robin raised his eyebrow, "League systems can get viruses?"

"_Unfortunately,_" the dark knight responded. "_League grids aren't completely perfect as much as we want it._"

"So basically, you're wasting our time." Superboy crossed his arms over his chest.

Aqualad was utterly shock at Superboy's attitude towards Batman. His King often reminded him to show his utmost respect towards the members of the Justice League. It was a magnificent group of heroes that dedicated their time towards the peace and safety of Earth's citizens. He fully understood that only a few knew what it meant to have the courage to stand against such formidable adversity.

"Superboy!" Aqualad heard Miss Martian behind him.

Batman narrowed his eyes, "_Never. Any day spent with the Team serves toward the mission._"

Kaldur saw Robin widened his eyes a little.

"Would've fooled me," Superboy spoke as he snatched his gaze away from the holographic screen.

"Then what is our objective?" The Atlantean warrior wanted to get out of this uncomfortable exchange as soon as possible.

"_We have triangulated the exact location of the energy spike. Deploy and investigate._"

"Understood," Kaldur gave a stern gaze. "We will report back within thirty minutes."

However, Batman wasn't finished, "_The Sahara Desert is near the borders of Bialya. Tread carefully. We don't want an international incident on our hands._"

The Team nodded in acknowledgment.

"_Batman out._"

X-X

"…say what?"

Kuruma sighed. "I do not know where we are."

"What d'you mean 'I do not know where we are'? You're better at sensing than I am!" The blond Hokage exclaimed.

Nine tails swayed behind the colossal fox, "True. However, this land is entirely foreign to me. By the way, did you know that we are currently standing in the middle of a desert?"

"I ALREADY KNEW THAT!"

Kurama lifted his paws up, "I was merely reminding you."

"We haven't even been here for that long!" Naruto was irked that Kurama challenged his mental capabilities. "How in the world was I going to forget?"

"You have an annoying habit of dismissing even the most minuscule details."

"Whatever. I was signing a bunch of stuff for the ninja academy—then poof!" Naruto supplied his words with hand gestures. "I was under the sun, which is really hot."

"The sun? Hot? Impossible."

"Shut up."

The gigantic fox cupped its jaw, "You were always looking for ways to escape those mountains of paperwork, but for it to reach this extreme."

"Oi," Naruto said with irritation. "I already got Sakura on my back for 'misusing' the Hiraishin. I don't need you to join."

A snort came from the massive beast, "You inherited that technique from your father. You can do with it as you please."

The blond grinned as he nodded, "Finally! Someone who gets it!"

"Actually," the behemoth nine tailed beast confessed. "I do not understand."

Naruto raised his fists slightly, "What's not to get?! The Hiraishin is a useful tool in my arsenal."

"I comprehended that fact," Kurama was forced to sigh at Naruto's atrocious communication skills. "Why be a Hokage at all if you did not want to bother with such…pesky responsibilities?"

"Ya mean all the paperwork and stuff?"

The tailed beast nodded.

The youngest Hokage crossed his arms, "Look, dun' get me wrong, I like being a Hokage even if I have to put up with the reading and signing. They could ease off y'know. But, hey, whatever…and it actually helps me with connecting with the other villages."

"Politics?"

"Duh! I gotta pick up where the old man left off!"

"The old man being…?" Asked Kurama with an elevated eyebrow.

"Hagoromo."

"A noteworthy aspiration, however," the fox started. "Do consider that you are carrying another soul in your body."

Naruto blinked, "Why?"

"I should have never let that old man seal me again."

"Hey!" Naruto exclaimed. "You agreed to be my partner in protecting Konoha."

Another blast of disappointing breath left the jaws of the nine tailed fox. "That, I did."

"Well, anyways." Naruto began as he interlaced his fingers behind his golden locks. "I guess, we have to—"

Kurama's head whipped up.

"NARUTO MOVE!"

X-X

It was fast. Freakishly, scary fast!

Naruto was super glad that he was able to sense it kilometers away. Because whatever that thing was, it didn't intend to cease. And the way this incoming object was accelerating, it looked like it was about to tackle him straight to hell!

He was granted only a few seconds to act.

With a fluid motion, a three-pronged kunai emerged from one of the markings on his right arm. Catching the weapon with his left hand, Naruto laced the knife with enough wind chakra and threw it with all his might.

As the kunai knife flew, Naruto summoned a shakujō with the assistance of another marking. The golden staff was taller than him; about a few centimeters. There was a beautiful, woven orange fabric wrapped around the staff. At the head of the staff was a large metal sphere which also sported its own ring. Within the loop were twelve rings that jingled as the blond twirled the staff.

True enough, the advancing figure swatted his odd shaped knife away like a fly. This was incredible enough, in his opinion.

A second later, the object was meters away. It was inbound and ready to knock him.

But, too bad.

Naruto Uzumaki vanished in a golden light before the object was able to touch him.

The blond Hokage appeared beside the discarded kunai. He retrieved his three-pronged weapon and held it firmly between his teeth. Naruto had to match the speed of whatever was trying to get him.

The teenager's grip on his staff tightened. Assuming his opponent's attack were linear, Naruto planned to throw the knife again and appear above the rushing target fully immobilizing it with a quick Rasengan.

He silently wished this would work. There were other methods to bring down his assailant, but they required too much attention. The whiskered teenager needed to stop this person quickly.

His vision danced all around. It was difficult for him to focus at the task at hand.

It already got complicated too fast. An approaching bad omen from the universe seemed inevitable.

Although the dust obstructed much of the image of his opponent, Naruto knew it was human because he sensed a decent amount of chakra inside their system. And he knew that they were still under that cloud of dust because chakra constantly pulsated from them. Whoever they were, they dispensed chakra so wastefully.

It kinda reminded him of his genin days.

Slowly, the dust began to dissipate.

The rings on his sage staff jingled wildly as he brought his weapon closer to his body. Naruto arched his torso forward and bent his legs in anticipation of a dashing attack.

Naruto narrowed his sapphire eyes as the human figure became clear.

There, standing mere meters away from him was a woman. She had a sickly umber colored hair, a light skin and a skinny frame that slightly suggested a state of malnourishment. Her light pink tee shirt billowed. She was wearing the shortest pair of shorts Naruto had ever seen. There were some cuts on her legs that probably resulted from her landing. Most importantly, Naruto was able to smell dried up blood on her fingers.

However, that wasn't what surprised Naruto.

It was the fully activated Byakugan that worried him the most.

X-X

"…is that?"

Kurama narrowed his crimson eyes, "It is."

Naruto blinked, "What's a Hyuga doing way over here?"

They were able to catch a roll of dense chakra that emitted off of her frame. It was extremely malicious. Come to think of it, Kurama was able to sense her pernicious human emotion that was generally laced with chakra from such a vast distance. How was this possible?

"I think, we are about to find out."

Kurama slammed his paws together in an effort to muster any available chakra he can. For this encounter, the gigantic fox concluded, they most definitely needed every single ounce of it.

He lowered his gaze towards his blond partner.

"Naruto," Kurama spoke. "Hold her off until I have accumulated enough chakra."

A nod came from the boy, "Uh-huh. Got it."

"I cannot believe it, but your chakra reserves are almost depleted." Kurama warned him.

Naruto clenched both of his fists, "That's probably why I feel a little bit whoozy…"

"Do not commit any unnecessary risks until I can replenish your supply."

"Sure thing."

X-X

"Recognized. Zatara; one-one. Zatanna Zatara; A-zero-three."

Batman was inside the cave going over mission briefing with the Team he had just sent out. He didn't need to turn around to face the newcomers. The League's systems had named the people that had just arrived.

"…we don't want an international incident on our hands," Batman warned the Team.

He saw them register his instructions.

"Batman out."

"Zatara," the caped crusader addressed a middle aged gentleman with black hair and gray eyes that wore a white buttoned shirt, red bowtie, a yellow vest, a black blazer and matching slacks, a pair of black shoes with a black hat and lengthened cane.

"Dad! Hurry up and tell him!" Zatanna was off to left; a bright, black haired teenager with blue eyes and light skin. She was dressed in a lavender top with white pants and casual flats for her feet.

"Zatanna, patience!" The magician leaguer tore away his strict gaze from his daughter to Bruce. "We have a situation."

"Yes, the League's computer warned us already. The Team was just deployed."

That earned an audible gasp from Zatanna and a surprised expression from her father.

"NO!" Zatara exclaimed, "You must bring them back!"

Batman narrowed his eyes, "What's going on?"

Zatanna pushed her dad aside, "They're in danger!"

"I can feel a strong mystic presence and raw power," Zatara said.

"The energy spike came from the Sahara Desert." Batman was surprised to say the least. It was unlikely that he was able to sense from such a distance.

Zatanna produced a sharp exhale, "No way!"

"Is it possible that you are sensing another sorcerer near Mount Justice?"

The magician leaguer shook his head, "It can't be. I am familiar with sensing most sorcerers like Jason Blood, Felix Faust, Wizard, even Witch Boy and Doctor Fate."

Zatara paused to clear his throat.

"This one is different."

"Zatara," Batman gave him a stern look. "What's its grade?"

"I fear that it's in a level much higher than my own. With Doctor Fate's current…idleness, we will run into complications."

It was Zatara's turn to stare down the dark knight.

"The Team won't be able to handle this."

That thought he managed to drive off earlier, found its way into his head once more.

X-X

The woman leaped forward. It was another linear attack and her frame was too rigid. She easily missed by at least a meter away. Something, Naruto found very appealing.

This woman was no pushover and as much as Naruto didn't want to admit it, he was currently weak. Not in the sense that she was going to overpower him but the blond felt that his systems were drained. Never did he think he was going to experience this all his life. Sure, there was that time when he could barely stand up to Gaara in their genin days. Or the time he rescued the whole village from Pein's wrath. The Konoha savior had been in bed for days that time.

But, this was different from that. So, different.

While evading her attacks, Naruto felt sluggish. The blond didn't have full control of his body. It was as if there were weights tied down to each of his limb. It couldn't help that the woman in front of him supplied her attacks with a freakish amount of strength. It wasn't on the level of Tsunade's or Sakura's and for that he was deeply grateful. Those, the whiskered teenager reflected, he could never handle.

A noticeable punch sailed through the air. The blond Hokage was able to dodge it by twisting his upper torso. In their distance, Naruto had no doubts that he would be able to retaliate in seconds. He brought his hand up and lifted the golden staff upwards. A delightful smile graced his expression when the metal smashed against her jaw sending her into the air.

Before she could soar through the beautiful, cloudless sky, Naruto grabbed her right ankle and threw her onto the dunes.

But, Naruto was quickly disappointed when she landed gracefully.

Without hesitation she continued on her relentless onslaught. The blond matched her speed magnificently. Bobbing in and out of her attacks was super undemanding. It looked like she didn't have a structural form to follow. All of attacks have been rather tactless. A punch that tried to hit his jaw, an elbow that tried to connect with his stomach and a kick that tried to take his balance.

They were too easy to read.

Another left hook came whizzing past his golden locks as he ducked under her arms. Here, he was perfect to strike. Here, he hoped to paralyze her wholly.

Or give him more time…whichever one worked.

Naruto delivered a contusing left jab to her ribs. When she recoiled forward, the blond stepped to her side and with both hands slammed his golden staff onto her back. It carried enough force to create a little crater below her. Most definitely, it had enough power to break her spine.

Not that he wanted to in the first place. Hopefully, Naruto could recover some answers from her then—in return she would get her ability to walk again.

Realizing that he didn't need the extra assistance of the Hiraishin at all, the Uzumaki heir pocketed the knife that was uncomfortably resting between his teeth.

"Assaulting the Hokage? Seriously?"

Her back twitched rhythmically. Naruto figured that she was still reclining to the attack. Although, he did hold back his strength by a considerable amount. The Uzumaki heir found no point in killing her.

He needed to know her identity.

He needed to know why she went ape-shit crazy and attacked him.

He needed to know who she recently murdered.

He needed to know how she got that Byakugan.

"Okay okay," Naruto spoke with a deep sigh. "I know we're past apologizing. But, don't sweat it! I can heal you."

She was silent.

"I just need a couple of answers."

Her frame suddenly paled and melted out of form. Naruto widened his eyes as a realization just materialized in his head.

He had been duped.

X-X

Aqualad stopped to turn to his Team who had all activated their stealth technology to camouflage with the color of the dunes. His sleeveless top and slim bottoms were difficult to distinguish against the surface of the grainy earth. "We are here."

"Affirmative," Robin's outfit also went through a transformation. Underneath a beige cape was a sandy, padded full body suit with matching gloves, tightly built golden utility belt, and combat boots. He was looking at the holographic screen that appeared above his beige glove. "Coordinates match."

Off to his right was a blond girl who wore a lightly tanned midriff-bearing uniform: a sleeveless top, an extended mask that only exposed her eyes and mouth, utility belt, a quiver and bow, a tactical pouch strapped to her right thigh, fingerless gloves, slim-fitting bottoms with padded knees and combat boots. She also had her hair in a ponytail. The young archer frowned as she placed her hands on her hips, "Except there's nothing here."

That was true. They had been searching for twenty minutes now. There was nothing but sand. The Atlantean should have already reported to the dark knight, but found himself incapable to do so. Nestled in his gut was a deep acceptance that maybe they overlooked something within this sea of grainy earth.

"I can't detect any other anomalies in the area. Either it disappeared or there wasn't any to begin with," Robin reported. Kaldur noticed a slight disappointment in his tone.

A tall short, black haired boy with a taupe colored long sleeve shirt that had a S-Shield branding imprinted on the front of the clothing. A pair of sandy colored jeans and combat boots covered his bottom form. Superboy kicked some sand in the air, "I knew it! This is a waste."

"Maybe not."

The Atlantean turned to the green Martian in a lightly tanned hooded cape and wore a matching body suit underneath. Her hands covered her head as she, Kaldur assumed, tried to mind sweep the area. A simple surveying technique Martians employed to detect any organics within the area.

"You found someone?" it was the Team's speedster who had his full body armor cloaked in golden brown hues to duplicate the sand; all except for his right arm medical apparatus which was pure white.

"Yes, half a kilometer to the east."

"How many are there?" Aqualad needed to know any unknown variants.

"Four."

X-X

Naruto swiped his golden staff across but the woman managed to evade it. She ducked under him and managed to kick him into the air.

When he landed, the brunette aggressor was already onto him. Deflecting two straight jabs with his staff, Naruto barely created enough room to perform. Flashing through the required handseals, the blond swiped his staff diagonally. The rings on the loop jingled chaotically as winds shot forward.

The woman was able to avoid an advance and vicious alteration of the Kazekiri again. It was certainly irritating that she had a consecutive success in missing the unnoticeable attack. This had been the third time.

She came at him from the left. What she did surprised him, though. At first the brunette advanced by running but then at the last moment—when he felt she had closed in the gap between them dashed forward with supplements of condensed chakra.

He didn't have enough time to dodge it. The blond took the blunt force by raising the staff horizontally across his chest to ease off some of the impact. The twelve rings on the staff rattled wildly.

Naruto was impressed. To be able to push him back…he hadn't felt this in awhile.

The woman clutched onto his staff and drew him in. Surprised at the sudden strength, Naruto was forced to follow her. In the corner of his perception, he was able to see a right hook that hastily rocketed towards his left cheek.

Oh, crap!

He felt the amount of chakra that augmented that hook. Naruto had no choice. He wouldn't be able to withstand it.

Within a few moments of a second, Naruto released his golden staff, hastily throwing the pocketed Hiraishin knife and disappeared in a golden light.

A colossal boom reverberated throughout the dunes. The chakra that was released on the tip of her knuckles chaotically discharged. Howling winds submitted to the force and created a cloud of sand.

That was Tsunade's technique.

How the hell did she learn that?

The young Hokage panted heavily as he picked up his kunai knife. He had used the Hiraishin twice now.

X-X

"Are you absolutely certain?" Aqualad needed to hear those words one more time. The way the situation was progressing...he didn't like it.

"Yeah, dude. I see only two targets," Kid Flash mentioned as he equipped his goggles.

"They're definitely metas," Robin observed with his own pair of binoculars.

"I don't understand…" Miss Martian drawled out. "I can definitely sense four organics."

"Maybe they're away, fighting somewhere else." Superboy had a better vision than anyone else. Kaldur had no doubt that he was able to clearly see everything that was happening beyond this sandy hill.

"No," Miss Martian pointed at the two people that battled on top a sea of sand. "All of the minds I sense are present."

Artemis had retracted her bow. Snatching one of her explosive arrows, she looked towards Aqualad.

"Orders?"

Aqualad lowered his gaze. Batman had strictly stated that their objective was to investigate. Now that they've discovered the source of the disturbance, should they go ahead and eliminate the threat?

A bead of sweat rolled from his head, "Where is the Bialyan border?"

Robin pushed a few buttons from his glove. It only took him a few moments to find out. "Approximately 1200 meters north."

That was too close for comfort.

Avoid an international incident.

This could not be stressed even more.

Breathing heavily Aqualad managed to croak out his Team's directives. "We will subdue both…"

Superboy and Kid Flash rushed to his side when Kaldur faltered slightly.

"Dude! Are you okay?"

Straightening himself, Kaldur wiped some sweat off his head and took a drink from his water pack. "I am fine. We must focus at the task at hand."

"Look, you're dehydrated. We'll handle this," Artemis sharply suggested.

Kid Flash gave him a reassuring grin, "Yeah don't worry about it. Robin can take over in command."

That earned a shocking gasp from Batman's protégé, "What?!"

"You have to start somewhere dude."

Aqualad smiled. He was thrilled to be in such a caring, tight-knit group. Not wanting to bring them down, Kaldur stood up. He had responsibilities and Atlanteans always delivered.

However, a wall of wind stopped him in his tracks. He was whiplashed onto the nearest small hill of sand.

X-X

"That Hyuuga is very strange."

"Nope," Naruto shook his head. "She's not from the Hyuuga clan."

Kurama raised an eyebrow, "The Byakugan says otherwise."

"Trust me, she's not. Her taijutsu doesn't resemble an ounce of Gentle Fist. It's just randomly generated moves based on opportunities."

"Could it be another form of the Gentle Fist. It is possible that she could have altered some moves."

"She didn't," All those times spent sparring with Hinata finally showed some light. "The moves she was doing earlier were too sloppy. The Gentle Fist is rigid, but quick. Since it's a close practice it usually results in becoming too predictable."

Kurama blinked, "Are you saying that her actions are unpredictable?"

"Yeah."

"But, you were able to easily comprehend her attacks awhile ago."

"f'course. I can see her attacks and react to them. It's pretty easy enough. It would've been better if I knew what she was going to do before she does it so that I can always be one step ahead of her. And, it's much easier to take her out that way."

"Perhaps," Kurama sounded like he wanted to emphasize more.

"When she was able to draw me in, a kick would've been better. Y'know, to create some distance between us to pull off some sort of ninjutsu…at least, that's what I would've done. But she aimed for my head instead."

A snort escaped from the beast, "Her goal is elimination then."

"Oi," the blond retorted. "She flew at us! It's obvious that she planned to kill me!"

Kurama rolled his colossal eyes, "She could have gotten information of your invincibility. With that alone, this woman inferred that you were in your Sage Mode."

The Uzumaki heir scratched the back of his head irritatingly, "Could be."

"Although," Kurama paused for a few moments. "Her chakra is strangely familiar."

The blond raised his head to meet Kurama's eyes. "How?"

"Well," Kurama cleared his throat. "For starters, her chakra is completely covered in pure malice. That is how we were able to detect her presence from a distance. Then, there is that aspect of her energy that is similar to the air or the sands. It is as if she accomplished a perfect ambient synergy. I can think of a few that we have fought, but only one being—who I know definitely carries the same characteristics."

The young Hokage stared firmly into Kurama's feral slits, "You don't think that she's…?"

Kurama scoffed, "No. You and the Uchiha were able to seal it."

"Then, what are you saying?"

"I believe this woman is possessed by Madara Uchiha."

* * *

**[A/N] **I was able to finish this chapter faster than I expected, which is very unusual. I hope that I didn't reveal that much within this update, I don't want you to digest a block of information for it to choke you and have the story dull. That's a big no-no. Additionally, I want to apologize for the line breaks. It seems I'm having issues where the normal line breaks won't appear in between paragraphs after I save the document into FF Doc Manager. Like, the line breaks only before the document begins and after it ends. Totally weird...but I'll live past it.

As you've read the second chapter, I'm pretty sure that you can tell that I have Naruto's power-level at current cannon; which means he has: Toad Sage Mode, Kyubi Chakra Mode and Rikudō Sennin's Body.

According to _Wikipedia_, a shakujō is a Buddhist, ringed-staff primarily used in prayer. This will be mainly Naruto's weapon of choice since he inherited and familiarized himself in the teachings of the Rikudō Sennin.

Anyways, here you go! I hope you enjoy the update. Leave a review or PM me to let me know what you think so far, yeah?

To all you mothers out there, Happy Mother's day!


	3. Meander

3. Meander

**I don't own Naruto or Young Justice. This story was constructed for pure entertainment and nothing more.**

* * *

A large black plane flew through the skies at velocities that rivaled Superman's top speeds. The design was futuristic, almost surrealistically aerodynamic with sharp pointed wings and a reserved engine that made the plane hum peacefully. Communication towers wouldn't be able to detect it and satellites confused it with birds. Essentially, no one should be able to see or hear it.

And that's the way Bruce liked it.

The Batplane was probably Bruce's favorite vehicle at his disposal. It housed everything Batman needed. EVERYTHING. From microscopic nano-robotic gadgets to the Batmobile, every available space was spent on occupying every essential gizmo in his arsenal. After adding the sleek plane to his inventory, nothing was ever worth mentioning anymore.

Oh, there's a building fire in Gotham?

The Batplane had something for that.

Oh, there's a gigantic rampaging lizard in the middle of New York City?

The Batplane had something for that.

Oh, there's a bunch of people trapped on a capsized ship in the Atlantic Ocean?

The Batplane had something for that.

Oh, there's a cat stuck on a tree?

The Batplane most certainly had something for that.

It made his utility belt look so prehistoric.

Within the plane, Black Canary, Captain Marvel, Zatara and Zatanna occupied the seats. It was an open interior where the passengers were able to openly communicate with the pilot. There was a similar design on Wonder Woman's invisible plane and Bruce found it comfortable to work in.

The bulky figure in a red suit with gold accents such as a thunder bolt logo on his chest, sash and boots. Also, he had a white and gold cape over his left shoulder. The muscular leaguer shifted in his seat. "This is cool! Though I figured you would've preferred a separated passenger cabin and cockpit, y'know, with your brooding and all."

Off to the side, Zatanna could barely muffle a laugh

Captain Marvel was able to see Batman's scowl.

"Right," Captain Marvel fidgeted his fingers. "No jokes."

A sigh came from the beautiful, platinum blond woman who was dressed in a black one piece, strapless leotard suit under a blue jacket, gray leggings, a pair of black calf-length boots, a pair of black fingerless gloves that stop at the biceps and a black choker. "When are we arriving?"

"Twenty minutes."

"We need to be faster Batman!" Zatara hollered from his seat.

The dark knight shook his head. Speed wasn't an issue here, "What we need is a plan. Is everything prepared?"

The dark haired magician nodded his head. "Everything is ready. Relics, runes, scriptures, I've stored it all in a dimension capsule."

"Are you sure that's going to work?" Black Canary asked. She was briefed moments after her zeta-tube to the cave.

"I have considered all magical enchantments."

"Didn't you say that the unknown is more powerful than you? What if this isn't going to work?"

Zatara was taken back, "That's preposterous! Are you suggesting that this unknown is outside the supernatural realm?"

"Highly improbable. But, possible." The caped pilot added in.

"I still feel the massive power," Zatara closed his eyes for a moment. "Actually, it's continually getting stronger."

"Have we considered other alternatives too?"

Black Canary was able to register a nod from the dark knight, "We brought every single mystical resource at our disposal."

"Yeah," Zatanna added. "I might not be at my dad's level but I can help too."

Black Canary smiled at the young black haired girl.

"No." Her father declined. "It's far too dangerous! You are only here to usher the Team to safety, nothing more."

"DAD!"

"An additional pair of hands could be beneficial," Batman mentioned from the controls of the plane while Black Canary frowned.

"That's why I asked you to permit me to bring Blue Devil as back up," the magician countered.

The bulky leaguer raised his eyebrow, "Wouldn't this be a League issue?"

Batman nodded, "Correct. Blue Devil is not a Justice League member and therefore cannot interfere with Justice League missions. He also has his own responsibilities."

Zatara groaned in displeasure, "The lives of the Team is at stake!"

"I agree," Black Canary crossed her arms. "That reason alone should have made you reconsider."

The caped crusader pressed some buttons in a console to his left, "We made guidelines and procedures for a reason."

Zatara's grip on his cane tightened, "Then first priority should be the lives of the Team. Containment should be next."

"Oh…okay," Captain Marvel blinked. "What if we encounter something we weren't prepared for?"

Batman glanced at the black duffel bag right next to Zatara.

"We adjust."

X-X

"I can't believe it! There's no way!" Naruto intersected his arms. "No way!"

"Why are you denying this possibility?"

"Because people die when you slice their head open," Naruto retorted.

"Orochimaru has still yet to completely perish."

"Okay," Naruto inclined. "That creepy old bastard have cheated death a few times—"

The colossal beast snorted indignantly, "A few? There is a standing bet between you and Sasuke Uchiha to predict how many times the Snake Sannin lives."

"Hey! Let me finish," Naruto crossed his arms. "Sasuke and I were able to kill Madara because he deviated from the Edo Tensei."

"Are you sure he is dead?"

"F'course!" The young Hokage exclaimed. "I capped that bastard's head open with the Gudōdama at the last second and Sasuke confirmed it with his Rinnegan."

Kurama raised his furred chin, "Then that brings us to the Shinju."

"Impossible. Like y'said, it's sealed."

"Perhaps, not completely."

"Again, that's highly unlikely."

"How are you so certain?"

The Uzumaki heir gave him a stern expression, "Because when Sasuke and I sealed the Shinju, we had several sealing experts review the container and, as a precaution, had the island void of all organisms and isolated from the world map."

"Maybe another terrorist group has formed in order to recapture the Shinju. It could be another cult. You have seized five of them within the Land of Fire alone." Kurama stated with a firm tone.

"Naw," Naruto doubted. "Their knowledge in sealing wasn't that great."

Kurama raised his eyebrow with a smirk, "And what makes you such a master in the sealing arts?"

"That ancient geezer taught me." Naruto said flatly.

"Well, there is another possibility of a military movement of a ninja village; most likely Kusagakure."

The young Hokage cupped his chin, "It's true that Kusa's been having difficulties…but there's no way they want to piss off the major five ninja villages."

"They are experiencing an economic depression. The Nara warned you to be wary of them."

Naruto shook his head, "Intel's been reporting that all they've done is expanded their fields for farming. Totally no military spending."

"Yet."

"Oi," Naruto responded immediately with a hint of irritation. "Everyone's with the agreement treaty made by Shikamaru, Baki, that bastard Omoi, Kurotsuchi, and that one guy Mifune."

"The shinobi world has a long list of people who have broken treaties."

"The island is highly secured by the five ninja village."

"Who can be influenced by worldly desires."

"I was observing people while they were signing the paper. I didn't hear any irregular heartbeat and I didn't see any sweat or any other signs of stress. And, I've used Jiraiya's old intelligence network to watch the other villages. They're all cooperating."

"Some people are talented at deception, Naruto."

"Look, what you're saying are just speculations. You don't have concrete proof." Naruto sighed as he rubbed his temple lightly. "Why are you trying to get me to suspect other villages? They're all good people!"

Kurama snarled, "You hope that they have a pure heart."

"What are you talking about?!"

"Do not be naïve, Naruto. We both know that the world cannot attain peace."

"No ONE is fighting against each other. Ninja villages are spending all their resources on necessities like food and utilities."

"And, after that? Ninjas will return to fighting amongst one another."

"Hey! No one can see it, but I feel that we're in a new era now. People are starting to look for new ways to solve their problems, a NON-VIOLENT type of way."

A pregnant pause descended. The colossal fox stayed wordless and Naruto didn't make eye contact for the duration of the quietness. When the fox didn't speak, the Uzumaki heir dedicated most of his thoughts towards the woman he was battling. Plus, he was sure glad that he was able to recover his shakujō from his opponent. The fight would be a lot smoother if she didn't use his weapon against him.

He couldn't understand just what Kurama was trying to communicate. The world was far from the dangerous clutches of the likes of the Juubi or Uchiha Madara.

Wait.

Uchiha.

The blond looked towards his partner, "Are you still worried about Sasuke? He's changed y'know."

Kurama didn't respond.

"He's going back to his original plans of building up the Uchiha clan." Naruto lowered his sapphire eyes, "With Sakura."

The fox in front of him was quiet.

"This'll be a new Uchiha, one without hatred."

"That is uncertain."

A large nerve appeared on his forehead, "Damn it! This is pissin' me off!"

"The inevitability of a resurrected chain of hatred is out of our reach and you can deny the temptations of the Shinju's powers all you want." The fox's fist journeyed towards Naruto. "But what you can't ignore is that this woman has fatal intentions and is somehow able to wield the Juubi's powers. What we are granted, however, is her termination. That is something we can control."

The young Hokage beamed. Their fists connected a few seconds later.

X-X

Being a member of a superpower group was terrible. It really wasn't how people pictured it. Honestly, it was just another clique really. It had personality clashes, secret admirations, and often miscommunications, trust issues—although the bromance that boy wonder and the annoying speedster had going on did brightened the picture a little.

Still, it was terrible.

But, Artemis couldn't complain. Not when she was one of the first people to be selected in this secret group. It was unbelievable on how much fortune smiled towards her.

In a span of a few months she felt that her growth had jump exponentially. Under the mentorship of Green Arrow, her archery skills rose to heights no one was able to fathom. She might even say that sometimes she was able to surprise the green archer himself.

Nothing could take that away from her.

Well, maybe earlier; when she thought she was dead.

An invisible attack?

Really?

Who in the world had those?

"Is everyone fine?!" Aqualad shouted.

"Peachy…" Artemis turned to her left to see Kid Flash nursing his right arm.

She struggled to recover. It took her a couple of minutes, "Speak for yourself."

"What was that?" Miss Martian inquired.

Superboy looked unfazed. The Kryptonian dusted some sand off of his black locks, "Just a gust of wind."

Seriously? Artemis thought she was done for a couple of minutes ago, "For you maybe!"

"Wait," the Atlantean was lashing his head left and right scanning his surroundings. "Where is Robin?"

The blond archer looked all over. She wasn't able to see the shortest member of the team.

Don't tell me…

"Right here."

She shifted to see Batman's protégé next to Miss Martian. He was carrying a tablet covered by a hard-casing.

Kid Flash scowled, "Don't scare us like that!"

"Sorry, I had to do something."

Superboy narrowed his eyes, "You abandoned us?"

"I saw all of you getting up. Especially you," boy wonder was gesturing towards the towering Kryptonian. "You guys looked concerted. Anyways, I was doing this…"

Robin showed them a surveillance video.

Aqualad's features exclaimed, "These are the targets?"

Sure enough, Artemis saw a blond, spiky haired boy dressed in an orange tee, black pants and a strange pair of black footwear that revealed his toes clashing against an older woman whose features wore an unhealthy pigmentation clad in a salmon-colored tee shirt, black shorts, and flats.

It was from a bird's perception but on occasions, the camera was able to pick up on the targets faces.

Boy wonder was interacting with the tablet, "I sent a drone since none of us really had a clear view on what was happening over there."

"I did." The voice belonged to the Kryptonian that stood to Artemis' left.

"Aside from you," Robin said, correcting himself. "Now we'll have enough information to act."

"Great thinking, Robin," Miss Martian praised.

The blond boy in the video flipped back three times effectively dodging the woman's attacks. She ran after him and sent a right hook. The boy was able to deflect it; a second later he forcibly faltered her form by sweeping her legs with a vicious kick.

She fell to the ground but, immediately rolled to her right in order to escape the blond's golden staff.

The woman leaped forward to send a flying kick to the boy but he managed to block it with his golden staff. The woman, though, didn't hold back. Springing back, she was able to escape any grappling opportunities and countered with an unsuspecting uppercut.

The blond was able to see that too and twisted his body to the right to evade her strike.

A blue reticule surrounded the pixilated expressions of the woman. "Facial recognition software is finally identifying the unknown targets."

Artemis had to raise her eyebrow on what she just witnessed. The male combatant's ringed staff stuck to his back without any straps and, seconds later, meshed his fingers together in bizarre schemes. Then, Artemis witnessed the LARGEST shurikens she had ever laid her gray eyes upon. Then, she saw the boy fire each one with his free hands.

The young archer could feel the shocked expression off of Kid Flash, "DUDE! They're totally colossal!"

In the video, the dust dissipated to reveal an unscathed retaliating female.

"Woman's name is Chelsey Hesh," Robin informed them. "Age: twenty-four. Married to Leonard Hesh. They have one son: Jack Hesh. Lives in 1428 North Tropia Lane, Metropolis."

The boy tried to punch her stomach but she was able to dodge it. Next, the boy closed in their distance again and swiped at her temple to which she avoided by lowering herself.

Superboy elevated his brow, "Metropolis?"

The woman shifted her body to the right. Propping her balance with both her arms, she was able to perform a whirlwind kick of some sort that earned a pained look from the boy as he flew a few meters away from his original position.

"What's she doing way over here?" Kid Flashed queried.

The newly identified woman, Chelsey, spun in the air as the boy bent his torso the right and snapping his left leg up. Artemis wasn't sure, but judging from the billowing dust he created, she could've sworn that a blast of wind followed his hasty kick.

The Atlantean warrior hummed, "Yes. I must know as well."

A blue reticule surrounded the blond teenager's pixilated expression.

The woman in the video landed in a crouched position.

Robin's eyes expanded, "No known records?!"

The boy rooted himself to the blazing sands. He was still and it looked like his eyes were closed.

"W-what does that mean?" The only archer in the Young Justice Team asked.

Within the tactical tablet, Artemis was able to see the boy abruptly glow in an armor of yellow light. There were strange black lines and markings that arrange themselves on the surface of his figure. A noticeable spiral shape rested on where his stomach would be. His staff joined him in his transformation. What was once a golden instrument became onyx. The sphere with rings at the head of the staff indurated, the rings merged to become spikes.

Robin took a gargantuan gulp, "He's not supposed to exist."

X-X

Naruto opened his eyes to reveal a slits like irises. It was just Kurama's supply of chakra. He didn't have enough time to fully add in the natural energy into the mixture. Actually, he was quite staggered that she allowed him to transform.

The young Hokage studied the distance between them.

She could have easily interrupted his intentions.

Why didn't she?

"You're quite the specimen," the woman before him was smirking.

"Oi," Naruto raised his eyebrow. "Y'can speak? For a moment there I thought you were mute."

The brunette giggled.

"Who are you," the whiskered boy questioned.

"My name's Chelsey."

Chelsey? That was a strange name. It rolled off his tongue unfamiliarly.

"Why are yo—"

Chelsey scowled intensely, "I believe it's my turn to talk now. I've given you time to ask a question earlier, shouldn't you give me the same courtesy."

Naruto remained silent. If that's how she wants to play it…

A few moments later, her features brightened. "Good! Now…where was I?" Her index finger touched her chin as her lip quipped upwards. "Ohh, that's right! How are you able to glow with energy?"

"The chakra cloak?" Naruto enlightened her.

"Chakra," the brunette leaned her head slightly to the right. "What's that?"

This woman didn't know what a chakra was? The Uzumaki heir found her incredulous. She's been employing it all this time to supply her strength, speed, reflexes and, not to mention, her Byakugan.

Chelsey sighed, "No matter…she'll tell me later."

"She?" The blond's mouth slightly gaped.

The brunette tapped her mouth, "Whoops! That wasn't supposed to come out."

Naruto stepped forward, "Oi, did this person send you out here? She controllin' you?! Give me a name so I can help you out dammnit!"

"Why should I tell you?"

"Because I'm Naruto Uzumaki! The seventh Hokage of Konohagakure whom you've assaulted."

"Oh, Naruto." She giggled, "No one knows where that is."

His eyes furrowed perplexingly, "W-wha?"

She moved her right hand hovering it above her heart. Her delicate—albeit slightly bloody fingers moved to knead a pair of sizable lumps that peaked through her salmon colored top. A pink tongue darted out and swiped her upper lips, "Make me feel good! It's the only way you'll get me to talk..."

The Uzumaki heir reclined slightly.

What the hell?

She was one of those, huh?

"…aaallrighty then."

He cocked his arm back, firmly grasping his blackened elongated weapon. Thrusting it forward, Naruto sent a blasted wind chakra that interlaced to be magnificently condensed. It traveled like a bullet with a tremendous boom that trailed.

The brunette side stepped, the rampaging gale darting past her. Her umber locks swayed from the roaring force of the invisible attack.

An eerie grin graced her feature.

A second later, she clenched her right fist.

The sands around him erupted. Naruto whipped his head wildly at the branch of sand that seized his neck. With his available hand, he tried to free himself but the blond boy was unable to do so. The sands began to pasteurize his teenage form. In a gleaning speed, the blanket of sand ascended around his body along with his staff in an effort to cocoon him completely.

She planned to Desert Coffin him?!

Oh, hell no!

He wasn't about to let himself be killed by the very technique that made Gaara so formidable.

Several chakra arms came out of his body. He struggled to push them back at first, and then managed to blow out a sizable chunk of sand by adding a little wind chakra to the core of his palms. However, the sands still continued to travel. Constructing a new pair of arms with Kurama's chakra, Naruto was able to flush through a set of handseals.

Dog, ram, snake, dragon, dog.

The Uzumaki heir fired off his jutsu. Trouncing cyclones burst through the forming sands. It was his very own version of Pein's Shinra Tensei. He recently recreated it too. Bordering on almost one year ago, his fight with the Akatsuki leader, the blond was fully aware of its offensive capabilities. Being one of the few wind-natured shinobi in Konoha, it was super rare to come across a wind jutsu to add to his arsenal. Though, Suna and Konoha had a standing alliance, it took a crap tons of convincing to let him study wind oriented techniques.

Being completely free, Naruto dashed forward.

If he knew anything about shinobis who were capable at manipulating sands, it was that they liked to keep their distance. They also liked to employ a layer of protection just in case their opponents managed to engage them in close combat.

But really, what worried him the most was that they were battling in the middle of a desert. Currently, Chelsey had a huge advantage over him.

Another thought did appear in the corner of his mind.

Chelsey performed a myriad of shinobi techniques without any definite theme. Usually, shinobis developed and blossomed into their own unique disciplines. An unpredictable taijutsu, the Byakugan, and now sand techniques?!

Just who was this woman?

Naruto flexibly arched his back to their limits and brought both hands behind him in an effort to smash his weapon onto the ground. When he brought down the staff, an empowered force roared upon the sands, disintegrating most of the grainy earth.

She was able to evade it and (in the back of his mind) expected her to. His assault was quick, that much was clear, but his form was too wide; too noticeable. Especially inside the gaze of the Byakugan, he had no doubt that she was able to see it.

But, still, this was all in the intentions of learning her limitations.

The young Hokage caught a glimpse of incoming sand shurikens. They were grouped together and the blond was able to detect their destination.

Masterfully twirling his elongated weapon, Naruto was able to deflect the sand constructed ninja tools easily.

He zipped through another set of sand shurikens. Bending at the waist, lowering himself with the assistance of his knees, craning his head left and right, the Uzumaki heir was able to home in a left jab. At the realization of an accomplished strike, Kuruma's partner supplemented his fist with an ample amount of chakra.

A painful expression appeared on her features.

She rocketed back. Her body skidded along the surface of the desert like a skipping rock on top of water.

Naruto relaxed. That should have done it.

However, that's not how their fight concluded.

The Byakugan wielding stranger elevated herself, though weakly.

The young Hokage grinded his teeth in agitation. Seriously, she wasn't finished yet? That last punch should have ended it right there; Naruto heard bones breaking for heaven's sake!

Was it possible that she had accelerated healing too?

However, Naruto had to push that question off to the side seeing as she just spat out a coin-sized Bijūdama.

X-X

The Atlantean team leader perceived something whilst looking at the tactical tablet. Gradually…the targets were drifting towards the Bialyan border! It was only a matter of time before they were going to be spotted by Bialyan officials.

Then, the most unthinkable thing transpired. Kaldur felt his heart sink as the situation turned from bad to worse.

A huge explosion presented itself a few hundred meters from their position.

The Atlantean teenager sprinted towards the top of a sandy hill. The sheer destruction that was before him made his mouth stretched to their limits. The blast radius was ridiculous!

Moments later, his brain reminded him of Batman's objectives.

This was no longer a reconnaissance mission.

The team's goal now was containment. Enclose the targets until additional Justice League assistance would arrive.

Aqualad turned to his team and began delegating, "Miss Martian link everyone."

M'gann only needed seconds to obey Kaldur's orders. "Mental link established."

"Shouldn't we…oh, I don't know…REPORT TO BATMAN?" screamed Kid Flash.

The youngest member of the Team tapped his padded gloves lightly. A holoscreen emerged from his wrist, "I've been trying to contact someone using League frequencies, but no luck. Radio signals aren't bouncing to cell towers like they should. Plus, we're close enough to Bialya that communication towers might spot us."

"What," Artemis placed a hand on her hip. "We're gonna wait 'till people hear about this on newspapers?!"

"Yes, I'm not too familiar with earth media, but I'm certain someone could've detected us already. That was pretty large for anybody not to miss," Miss Martian commented.

"KF can sprint back to the Bio-ship and set up the communication amplifiers."

The red-head speedster beamed highly, "Yeah, it'll take a second."

Off to his right Superboy rolled his eyes, excitement rolling off him. "Whatever. I say we pound those people to the ground already!"

"The targets must be contained for now. We cannot allow further escalation," the dark skinned Atlantean added. He gestured towards Kid Flash, "Remain here."

"But, Batman's gonn—"

Aqualad shook his head in disagreement and interrupted Batman's protégé. "We will ease the rising situation first."

Robin's silence cued his acceptance to Aqualad's orders.

"Finally," Superboy smacked his palm with his fist. "Some action!"

"Kid, Miss Martian, Robin, Artemis." The four gestured teams made eye contact. "Move around the targets. Guide them towards Superboy and I."

"Got it," Kid Flash retorted as he dashed off.

"_Understood,_" Miss Martian said while Artemis and Robin nodded their heads in acknowledgment. The Martian hovered and lifted both young superheroes with the help of her Martian affinity of telekinesis. They flew and skirted along the dunes staying cautious to their two targets.

Kaldur made eye contact with the teenage Kryptonian, "You and I will stay here and box them in from this end. They must not be allowed to go furthe—"

"_LOOK OUT!_"

Aqualad whipped his head towards the gestured direction. A black sphere zoomed in on their position.

Before it hit them, however, a colossal, extended bright yellow palm caught the onyx ball. A massive energy discharge obliterated the hand. The impact was so large and extensive that it created a crater of sand. Fine, grainy rocks cascaded from an adjacent sandy hill to fill up the hole that would have been Aqualad if it had not been for the blond teenage boy.

A relieving sigh of breath tunneled out of his mouth.

"I've had it!" Beside him, Superboy roared. "It's time we end this!"

A super leap later, he joined the two opposing targets.

* * *

**[A/N] Hokage Naruto vs Young Justice vs Shinju Lady!  
**

And, no. That won't be their alias in the DC world, I promise. Shinju Lady? Really?!

Yeah...I know. It's shorter than the last chapter. But, honestly, I didn't want to dish out more. I felt that this was a good place to stop.

So, I'll be writing the next chapter soon and I'll post it in a week since my schedule is cleared. I wish my sinus would do the same... Also, I recently got through a summer intership interview. So, if my updates begins to get cricket-y after the fourth chapter, you'll know why.

**[Technique** **Lists]**

Source: naruto-wikia

Name: Gudōdama (Truth Seeking Ball)

Classification: Tailed Beast Skill; Senjutsu

Type: Ying-Yang Element

Class: Offensive; Defensive; Supplementary

Synopsis: **Truth-Seeking Balls** are spheres of black, malleable chakra that are comprised of at least four different nature transformations, as well as natural, energy, and with complete mastery are capable of negating ninjutsu.

X-X

Name: Edo Tensei (Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation)

Classification: Ninjutsu; Kinjutsu

Class: S-rank; Supplementary

Synopsis: The **Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation** is a forbidden technique where, using a living person as a vessel, a deceased person's soul can be called back to the world of the living and bound to it. The vessel will then take on the form that person had in life, thereby reincarnating them to do their summoner's bidding.

X-X

Name: Bijūdama (Tailed Beast Ball)

Classification: Tailed Beast Skills

Class: Offensive; Long-range

Synopsis: The **Tailed Beast Ball** is the ultimate technique of a tailed beast and its host.


	4. Contact

4. Contact

**I don't own Naruto or Young Justice. This story was constructed for pure entertainment and nothing more.**

* * *

Naruto dropped his glowing jaw. He just had to, after dissecting one of the most astonishing ability his sapphire orbs were able to register.

A short black haired teenager with azure eyes, wearing a sandy long sleeve tee shirt that had a strange branding, lightly hued khakis and matching combat boots sprung meters away from the brunette he was currently fighting.

Wait, no.

This wasn't just a normal jump.

The guy—freakin'—vaulted from a sandy hill hundreds of meters away from them.

And what bewildered the Uzumaki heir even more was that this new guy did it without employing any amount of chakra! Furthermore, now that the blond was shrouded in Kurama's chakra it made his sensor abilities skyrocket through his limits. Naturally, Naruto was able to determine the chakra control of the brunette in front of him and the reserves that this guy had. It was none existent. Like, what the hell?

Though—of course Naruto went against people who had similar leaping skills, but they had nothing on this newcomer. Even Lee, with his inability to use ninjutsu, is able to apply a small amount of chakra to accomplish the agile mobility required of shinobis.

No chakra.

The young Hokage narrowed his eyes. This guy must be talented in taijutsu. There were no other possibilities. The black haired newcomer wouldn't be able to pull of any genjutsu and ninjutsu was out of the question. Specializing in taijutsu often meant that this guy might also be knowledgeable in weaponry. Usually martial arts specialists and weaponry came hand in hand.

Sapphire orbs swept through the newcomer's figure. He was carrying no obvious objects; unless, it was all hidden.

A sizable fist drilled through the air. Its destination was indisputable. This bastard was going for the blond's torso.

Which was a smart option, Naruto concluded.

It was a larger target than the head and anchored all of the human anatomy. Most of the more experienced shinobis knew that nearly all body movements generally generated from the torso. If someone capable could disrupt that then their opponents would be left to playing catch up.

An accomplish assault on the upper human body usually reached immobilization.

Naruto was able to gather that this guy's intent wasn't to kill him but to paralyze him. In a general rule of thumb, restraining your targets most likely lead to abduction, which in turn could result interrogation. That, the young Hokage reflected, was not on the list of being the perfect village leader.

So, obviously, Naruto avoided the hit. Bending his knees and descending, the whiskered shinobi was in the position for an ideal retaliation. He had enough time to deliver three hasty straight jabs to the guy's stomach and lower right hip.

And, holy hell did the impact hurt! It felt like he just punched a metallic multi-layered vault!

Again, the Uzumaki heir was forced to question the boy's abilities. Naruto couldn't feel any chakra that protected the body.

However, from the guy's inclining, Naruto figured that it damaged him more.

Naruto stepped to the side, pushed and let the boy pass him. He saw the brunette rushing in to deliver a strike to the newcomer. She was most likely going to kill him while he focused on bringing Naruto down. The blond couldn't allow that, however. He wasn't just going to save this bastard's life, the whiskered teenager needed answers and he was hoping that this guy had more manners than her.

She was certainly empty of any logical reasons.

The only course that made sense to the blond was eliminating Chelsey before she could hurt anybody else and deliver her body back to Konoha Intelligence where medical examiners can give him answers this woman never would.

Naruto could already see the lovely chat he and Hinata were about to have later on.

Sticking his left knee out, Naruto grasped his shakujō with both hands and swung wide. He was happy to find that it connected when she plummeted to one of the sand dunes. The blond managed a large amount of distance between them and hoped that her shattered bones would keep her occupied for the duration.

Naruto noticed a movement in the corner of his perception.

The black haired boy turned his body to the left. Under the sweeping motion of his figure, he carried a pronounced right hook that didn't bother the blond.

"Wait!"

His broad arm didn't cease.

Kurama's partner was able to evade the extensive strike with relative ease. Broadening his stance, Naruto was able to spin out of reach. A smirk graced his features, there was no way he was going to get touched with such obvious movements.

Naruto managed to avoid another swipe by stepping back.

"Oi! Listen to me!" Naruto screamed.

But that didn't seem to discourage the teen as another punch came spiraling in. Deflecting it was unchallenging with his staff.

This one was loose in the cranium too?!

Was there something in the air of this barren, sweltering desert?

Following through his movements, the black haired boy slightly sprung into the air. Upon studying another incoming attack in the form of a descending haymaker, Naruto pushed away from the raging teen. The blond easily missed such a hailing strike.

When the boy grounded himself onto the blazing grainy earth, he abruptly dashed forward at a booming velocity.

Sapphire orbs threatened to pop out of their sockets at recognizing his mistake. He wouldn't be able to reach the pocketed three-pronged knife in time and he couldn't just spend chakra on his father's technique so recklessly; not when the temporarily motionless woman had the capacity to spit out Bijudamas out of nowhere. However the blond did have a second option he could fall back to so there were no worries. His onyx transformed staff would absorb most of the blow. He'll be able to get out of this unscathed.

The boy cocked his right arm in the air.

Naruto steadied weapon in front of him.

His fist sailed and collided against the consolidated form of the shakujō.

Imagine his surprise when Naruto found himself decking his temple, scraping his elbows and spiraling on the surface of the scorching sands leaving substantial traces of bodily fluids all over.

"Damn it," Naruto cursed. He most certainly didn't expect that to happen.

The young Hokage was given the chance to recuperate; although, rather poorly. Kurama's chakra soothed all of his injuries and massaged his senses back to normal functions. The blond studied the gap between him and the burly, black haired teenager.

Twenty-two meters, approximately.

An audible groan reached the entrance of his ears. In this chakra cloak, Kurama was able to enhance the five human senses past their normal abilities. Naruto wisely noted the woman's recovery.

"Oh," Chelsey supplied her voice with a raspy moan. "You make me feel so alive, Naruto…"

Naruto felt a bead of sweat dripped down his left cheek. This was becoming more exhausting than what he anticipated. From how he perceived it awhile ago, the brunette should've been taken cared of already. Instead, now, the terms got higher as he stacked the increasing situation. Cautiously, he began numbering all of his problems.

A Byakugan-wielding woman who had the powers of the Juubi.

A male teenager who was adept in taijutsu and operated at monstrous strengths.

Moreover, his keen nose was able to pick up four new scents nearby.

Then, there was the fact that he had almost exhausted most of his resources.

God, today sucked.

X-X

Kaldur'ahm's grinded his teeth irritatingly at the sight of the teenage Kryptonian. In the wake of his destruction, Superboy's actions completely baffled the Atlantean warrior. One day, just one day; that was all Kaldur asked.

But, when it comes to the Kryptonian teenager it seemed that each sunrise was a new trial.

A gust of relief escaped from his mouth. At least he kept the unknown male target busy while he formulated a plan of success for such horrendous conditions. He could not begin to fathom how they leaped from simple gusts of air blasts to energy bombs that decimated hills.

Just how were they going to contain such mess?

But it seems that thought had to be brushed off for a moment.

The Atlantean's emerald colored eyes perched on a terrible movement.

As an Atlantean, Kaldur was congenitally gifted with traits far enhanced from the typical humans that populated the surface world; like enhanced speed for instance. The dark skinned Atlantean's speed was not only valuable submerged below the seas but also flourished on the terrains. Obviously he would never stand a chance in a race with the likes of Superman, Flash, his apprentice Kid Flash, or Captain Marvel but, he would be able to outrun Olympic gold-awarded runners by a long shot.

For more than one purpose, he was relieved that he was able to reach such speeds because one of their targets recently recovered and looked as if she was itching for another round.

That was something that could not be allowed to happen.

The Atlantean warrior sprinted towards her position. Having steadied his mind, a single, primary objective dominated his thoughts. In order to achieve a more significant success, it was essential for the two targets to be isolated from one another. From what Kaldur could gather was that if they interacted like before, destruction was the only destination.

As the emerald-eyed Atlantean scurried towards one of the target, he delegated his thoughts through an established mental link. "_Our priorities have shifted. Contain and subdue both targets. They must not be allowed to interact with one another. Miss Martian, you are with me. Together we will hold off the female target._"

Kaldur saw the hovering Martian advance towards the woman's position in order to accomplish the task. There was no hesitation in her movements. That was a good sign of an obedient teammate.

"_Artemis,_" The blond archer positioned herself on the far left corner; approximately eighteen meters away from Chelsey Hesh and twenty-five meters away from the unknown blond target. "_Stay on the perimeter. Alert me if Hesh manages to drift off._"

"_Understood_," Artemis accurately fired off two arrows towards the glowing target. The whiskered boy was able to dodge one and faltered slightly when the second arrow exploded near him.

Generally, archers developed acute eyesight. This ability would relieve most of his worries, "_Your second objective will be to study Hesh. I require knowledge of her tendencies in order to suppress her._"

"_Aye, aye captain!_"

The glowing target artistically twirled his ringed staff behind him as he sprung backwards. He was able to deflect another explosive arrow and, seconds later, lowered his head to avoid Superboy's attack. The boy was able to perform a set of vicious counterattack. "_Kid! You and Robin are to assist Superboy in containing the male target._"

"_On it!_"

"_Understood!_"

Kid Flash bolted behind the glowing boy. The target fell when the speedster performed a quick cyclone of a sweeping kick. Lying on the ground, the boy was available for any open attacks. Superboy launched into the air with the intent of crushing his opponent while cocking his left arm back. Unfortunately, the male target was able to roll to safety.

When Superboy violently grounded himself, a cloud of dust erupted.

"_Robin, stay within the southern perimeter._" Batman's protégé served as a great candidate for this upcoming task. Under the dark knight's tutelage, the youngest member of the Team amazingly adopted an uncanny ability to detect the tiniest details. "_You have similar secondaries as Artemis. I need to know what that unknown target's capable of!_"

Boy wonder responded by throwing three birdarangs that were easily diverted away.

Aqualad wiped off congregated beads of sweat on his temple.

He was only a few meters away from her. The Atlantean warrior smiled on the inside. Kaldur would be able to intercept her with minimal effort, it seems. Preparing a right jab, Aqualad aimed for her left cheek. A victorious blow would create a significant advantage in disrupting her efforts. He hurled his webbed fist forward.

However, his fist only struck the air as Hesh stepped back completely avoiding his attack. It was rather peculiar, Kaldur reflected. He had approached her away from her notice. With the control of his motions, he should have squelched any unnecessary noises as much as possible. The Young Justice team-leader observed the cascading grainy earth.

Did she notice a shift in the sands?

Additionally, how come he can distinctly perceive the veins on the edge of her eyes?

Chelsey Hesh gave him a victorious smirk, "Didn't think I'd see you, huh?"

"We have identified you. What is your purpose?" Aqualad demanded as he narrowed his eyes.

The brunette wagged an index finger in the air, "Uh-uh. That would be telling. She told me to keep it a secret!"

"Who is 'she'?"

Hesh let out a chain of giggles, "You're not allowed to know that too."

Kaldur would not play her games. There was still another active target within the vicinity. "Either you cease or I will do it for you."

A projectile constructed of a sphere of sand drilled through the air. Kaldur was forced to step to his right to avoid the incoming object. However, she was far from finish. She hopped sideways as she laced her fingers into strange formations. Seconds later, he was forced to zip through another party of sand projectiles as she manipulated them to her liking.

"If you can," her laugh echoed.

Aqualad maneuvered swiftly. His webbed hands drifted behind him, fingering his prized twin silver water-bearers. These invaluable, mechanized hilts were given to him by his King and mentor, Aquaman. It was a noteworthy device that synchronized well with his Atlantean ability of hydrokinesis.

Released from their sheaths, he skimmed them over his water pack accompanying his utility belt. Both of his eel tattoos and weapon illuminated brightly with the hue of light blue which signaled a successful manipulation of water. There was enough water to form a shield and mace.

Kaldur darted forward. His shield would take care of her sand projectiles while he hoped the mace would be enough to incapacitate her once he reached the female target.

Three sand projectiles collided against his water shield. His freshly defensive weapon did an excellent job of protecting him; however the blobs of grainy earth sunk onto water surface.

He was forced to obstruct four more sand spheres.

"Idiot!" Hesh barked. "Don't you know? Earth drinks water."

Gradually, the sand was absorbing the water that formed his shield and his liquid constructed buckler began to dribble away; globs of moistened grainy earth spilling onto the scorching sandy hills.

Kaldur, however, remained levelheaded. He was being underestimated. He could not allow this to taint his status as Aquaman's most trusted soldier. And as a proud Atlantean warrior, that could not be tolerated.

Though, he could use his mismatched element to his advantage.

Aqualad had established a workable distance between him and Hesh. Furthermore, the Atlantean was able to salvage most of the liquids absorbed by the sands and employ them in a surprise attack.

Hastily, he snaked his arm that wielded his mace across to the other side of his body. Paralleling both arms together, Kaldur collected all of the liquid within his proximity. He was able to manipulate the water into an extensive-sized whip.

Lashing out, Aqualad was able to hit the woman on her chest. She barreled backwards, a testimony of his incredible strength.

But, Hesh recovered fast.

In the space of a few seconds, the brunette slapped the ground. "I own the dunes!"

Her words confused the dark skinned Atlanteann and he was not permitted to respond. Structured sands whipped his left shoulder which left him spiraling down a sandy hill. Kaldur was forced to discard the water his weapon once molded. It resulted in evaporation thanks to the heat that governed the desert.

X-X

"_AQUALAD!_"

Artemis rushed over to her Atlantean teammate. The blond archer supported him in getting him back to his feet. They couldn't afford a down comrade in this situation. It was too challenging.

And it was progressing south.

Her dark gray eyes glided towards the male target.

"_Focus on your objectives_," Kaldur reminded her through heavy respiratory intakes. "_They will take care of him. We need your full attention with her._"

Artemis nodded.

Sure…she didn't need to worry about him. The guys had it covered. She needed to bring her full game. Artemis couldn't get divided now. Plus, they had Superboy with them.

They were going to do fine.

The blond archer skipped sideways avoiding a group of what looked like sand bullets. Not missing a beat, Artemis fired one explosive arrow.

It was batted away by a rope constructed of sand and exploded two seconds later.

Green Arrow's apprentice groaned in displeasure. What did it take to bring this woman down?

"_Not telling you how to suppress him…but it's better if they DON'T slip through your grip!_" Kid Flash screamed through the team's mental link.

"_What the hell do you think I'm doing?!_" Superboy grunted. "_I'm doing EVERYTHING I can! This guy's faster than me!_"

Artemis shifted her eyes towards the male target.

His glowing right fist smothered Superboy's left rib cage. Wincing in pure agony—which really left her dumbfounded, by the way—the towering Kryptonian doubled forward in an instant. Kid Flash was able to circle around and lashed out before the enemy could register. Seizing the opportunity while the phosphorescent opponent sprawled on the ground, Robin darted over his figure to attack him using his escrima sticks. Though he was so close, his intentions were interrupted by a massive wind blast.

"_ARTEMIS!_"

The blond archer whipped her head to the source of the voice.

Before she could fully make eye contact with Miss Martian, her eyes dissected an approaching assembly of projectiles.

Bending backwards, she glanced at four sand bullets that drilled past her. In a flexible suite, she dropped her arms over her head. Her acrobatic legs followed through in a swinging wide arch attaining her levelness once again. The blond archer noticed that as she pulled this stunt she managed to evade a volley of projectiles that flitted above, under and adjacent to her form.

Alright, enough was enough. This woman was going down!

Hard.

Internally, she beamed as Aqualad was able to close the distance between them sneakily. He struck out with his water-bearers tightly gripped. With superior observational skills that were drilled into her by her mentor Green Arrow, Artemis was able to study her team leader's astonishing movement control. The blond archer couldn't understand why he opted to shape the water into daggers. If she had to guess, it projected that Kaldur's water supplies were quickly draining.

Internally, she grimaced. If she noticed this, then she didn't doubt that the female target also arrived at the same conclusion. And if you're opponent can see your weakness, it surely meant that you could be exploited.

Nonetheless, Kaldur was performing much better than she forecasted. Every move was wisely spent and gradually lead to several critical strikes.

But what was more shocking was how the female target was able to recuperate from such tenacious assault.

Backing off, Hesh was able to create quite a distance between her and Aqualad within a few seconds. The breathing room gave her an ample amount of space to dictate the battlefield. Aqualad sequenced through combinations of bending, twists and rolls to escape the tendrils spawned from the sands that surrounded them. Though, Kaldur's luck had nothing on Miss Martian's. She was progressing better than the Atlantean. Levitating, the green Martian was able skirt through the brunette's earth onslaught.

The pony-tailed archer rolled forward in an effort of effectively dodging another congregation of sand projectiles while advancing further. Gaining at least a few meters more, she fired one piercing arrow which decimated a sand bullet that stood in its path. The arrow stabbed the sandy hill and Artemis forced the woman to hop to her right.

The outspoken archer smirked extensively.

Artemis brought her that much closer to Kaldur.

In less than a second, the Atlantean team leader unleashed on her. Guiding his twin water-bearers, he was able to strike her on the chest and legs.

Rolling back to recovery, Hesh elevated to launch a hooking left punch. But, before she could touch him, Miss Martian blasted her off with a deadly dose of telekinesis.

Artemis widened her gray eyes, "_M'gann no!_"

Pushing her further into the dunes was such a costly mistake!

"_What?!_" Miss Martian stopped and turned towards the blond archer. "_What did I do?_"

"_She can't function in close combat! She's been jumping all around to back away from us. Hesh knows her weaknesses and she's been using the distance to her advantage since there's sand EVERYWHERE!_"

"_I-I'm sorry,_" Miss Martian shifted uncomfortably in the air. "_I hadn't noticed._"

"_It is fine_," Aqualad responded while he spun to avoid a cascading mass of sands. "_Miss Martian, can you pull her towards me?_"

"_I can't. I've been trying earlier. It's as if she's glued to the surface._" Miss Martian responded.

Her gray eyes almost trundled out of their sockets. A giant sand snake crawled hastily towards her position. Once it was mere meters away, it raised its head and hissed viciously. She was definitely surprised that it was detailed enough to have some kind of voice box. Almost as fast as lightning, the artificial earth snake struck forward.

Thank goodness she was able to swivel sideways in time!

Not taking her eyes off of the danger, she studied the creature as it reared back for another assault.

But, before it could storm forward, the blond target vaulted high and crushed it to smithereens with—what looked like a swirling, sapphire sphere of energy. The monstrous power that revolted caused the sands to explode around him and temporarily disrupted Kid Flash and Superboy that was near him.

"_Is it just me,_" Artemis broadcasted through their mental link. "_Or does blond boy look like he's on our side?_"

She was able to hear Wally's annoyed groan, "_It's just you! This guy's punches freaking hurts!_"

"_AND, he's the one hurling all the wind attacks we felt earlier._" Robin spoke.

"_You know,_" From where she was standing, the blond archer heard Kid Flash began to speak with a hint of sarcasm in his tone. "_I usually like the feeling of wind when I run. But when you turn them into invisible knives, then that's when we have a problem!_"

"_Artemis._" Kaldur called. "_I told you to leave the male target to them._"

"_I can't help it! He's edging towards us from time to time. You ordered me to hold the perimeter._"

Off to the side, Artmis witnessed Superboy trying to punch the blond teenager but a glowing left hand grabbed his right wrist and a descending right chop forcibly bent his elbow. Fluidly, the luminous male target pulled the Kryptonian teenager closer and delivered a snapping right kick. The black haired teenager ended up scraping the sandy hills with his burly body.

Taking a knee to breathe, Superboy glared at Artemis. "_We'll take care of this glittering bastard! Go bring that woman down and LEAVE HIM TO US!_"

Slightly reclining back from Superboy's words, Artemis turned her attention towards Aqualad, Miss Martian and Chelsey Hesh.

The female target catapulted three massive sand pillars that flagged their destination to Miss Martian's position in the air. Her green team member was able to respond by destroying them with her powerful telekinesis.

Aqualad parried two miniature sized sand snakes with his Atlantean weapon. "_Miss Martian, are you sure you can pull her once she detaches herself from the surface?_"

"_I can definitely do it!_"

"_Artemis_," her head raised as Kaldur beckoned, "_Guide Hesh towards me. Leash her in a comfortable gap. Do not allow her to wander. I will take point. Once we have driven her off the ground, Miss Martian, I want you to seize her._"

"_Understood,_" Miss Martian voiced her readiness as Artemis nodded her head in comprehension.

"_We end this now!_"

Green Arrow's apprentice ducked to the right. Barreling sideways, Artemis shot an explosive arrow in mid-air that obliterated a newly constructed sand serpent. Bursting from a cloud of dust, Aqualad descended straight into crippling assaults.

Miss Martian progressed forward but the female target stopped her by manufacturing three broad pillars made out of sand.

Artemis supported her green teammate by firing off two green arrows that stabbed each sand pillars. It was only a second later that the arrows exploded, crumbling the foundations.

"_I have you covered! Go!_"

The last sand pillar didn't stand a chance under Miss Martian's overwhelming power.

X-X

The red headed speedster disliked wasting time. For as long as he obtained his gifts—or even before—he was always in a race with time. This long time realization agitated him continuously. In this unending competition, time wouldn't back down.

It was everlasting.

It was patient.

It never lost to anyone.

Well…maybe to immortals such as Wonder Woman or Ra's al Ghul. But, still time stood and rose before they were born. They would never catch up to its depth. Even their lives were numbered.

Not time.

It persists.

So, when it became clear that the male target was squandering around hoping for a chance to slip through their defenses, it irked the living hell out of Wally.

This guy was good, Wally relinquished. From his extensive abilities of an energy cloak to spherical energy bombs or wind-natured attacks or enhanced strength, this guy had them all! Never in his life had he seen a meta-human that had such a diverse range of powers in his arsenal. If anything, he was a little bit jealous that this guy could almost do anything with a flick of his finger.

Speaking of his fingers…

The blond male target was doing it again. Going through sets of intricate hand gestures that always interlaced the fingers before his powers could animate. This time he only did three of those hand gestures—or what Wally was able to distinguish. After he completed what needed to be done, Kid Flash registered, the blond boy snapped his left fingers.

Stampeding winds roared to life.

Wally was sooo glad that his reflexes were fast enough to see the incoming attack. Studying the marks left in the sands, he found it relieving that he was able to evade such a ferocious hit.

For Superboy, however, not so much.

The poor guy took the force head on. Slashing winds tore a part of his clothes to pieces revealing a slightly bloodied flesh. The force of the winds raised the Kryptonian teenager off the ground and hammered him back a few meters onto a small hill of sands.

"_SB! You're bleeding!_" Off to his right, Wally saw Robin crouching under a diagonal haymaker that aimed for his left shoulder. His best friend tried to match him in hand to hand combat by sending two quick jabs, but the glowing target swatted them lightly with his long, onyx staff.

"_How's he making me bleed?_"

Upon detailed inspection, it was clear that the dark knight's pupil wouldn't be able to dodge an arching uppercut in time. Kid Flash darted through. He engulfed Robin in a bear hug and ushered them to safety before the male target could do any more damage, "_He's dishing out magic?_"

Wally could've sworn he heard the sparkling punk speaking.

"_Negative,_" Robin disagreed. "_Male target hasn't mentioned any incantations._"

Wally rolled his eyes, "_Right…'cause you're the go to guy when it comes to sorcery._"

"_As opposed to you, Mister Science-Is-Everything?_"

"_Hey!_" Wally shouted. "_I was actually a vessel for Doctor Fate, like a couple of months_ _ago!_"

Batman's protégé chuckled, "_Yeah, but only for two minutes. I've microwaved some of my dinners longer than you've been with the Doc!_"

Wally blew out a steam of annoying huff, "_Point is, dude, I'm still more experienced than you with the mystic stuff._"

"_You're experience with magic is just about the same with girls!_" Robin snickered.

A chain of exaggerated laugh came from the blond archer.

"_DUDE!_"

"_Can you guys shut it?! Focus on what's in front of you!_" Superboy screamed while he rolled out of the enemy's way.

Superboy dashed to the blond combatant. He tried to punch his right shoulder, but the enemy somersaulted backwards adequately rolling out of the way of his charging assault. Instantly, the glowing target pushed forward in an effort to smash Superboy to bits with his elongated weapon.

"WATCH OUT!" Wally screamed as he stuck his palm out.

Apparently, the red head got through to him as the easily irritated Kryptonian rotated to the right and snatched the enemy's gleaming neck. However that didn't sit straight with the boy as his elbow buried onto Superboy's armpit. Under his crushing strength, the burly teenager inclined. While the Kryptonian cringed in pain, the unidentified target swerved out of his clutches, blunted his captor's ribs, and struck his palm down so that he was able to smash Superboy's stomach with his left knee.

A group of red exploding shurikens forced the target to relinquish Superboy and distance himself slightly.

Kid Flash raced over to support the recovering Kryptonian, "WHY DIDN'T YOU HELP ME?!"

"We are!" Robin barreled forward, flicking more of his red birdarangs. "_KF, distract him while SB recuperates!_"

The red-head sprinted forward.

In order to beat this guy, Kid Flash needed something special to do it. He didn't have a sundry array of abilities at his disposal, but he did have something up his sleeve that this guy didn't. Ultimately, Wally beamed, he was light-years ahead than this guy. If he thought he could spin, duck, or roll his way to safety, then he was dumber than he looked.

Kid Flash sent a left punch.

The glowing boy bent forward; his free hand clutching his stomach. In the matter of milliseconds, Wally was able to home in a successful hit. Efficiently, the speedster circled back to the enemy.

Kid Flash sent a left punch.

The glowing boy was whiplashed onto the dunes that he once stood on. Unfortunately, the red-head gave him enough time to nurse any stinging pain. Not missing a beat, Wally made a donut and sprinted back to his objective.

Kid Flash sent a left uppercut.

The glowing boy was sent into the air, slightly. If Wally had enough distance, he could've created enough force for a more substantial strike. He was happy, nonetheless. It looked like the guy was a little bit more winded and the shocked expression he was projecting was fantastic. Nearly doubling his speed, Wally ran back to the blond boy.

Kid Flash sent a left hook.

The glowing boy reclined back. The red-head was able to hit his cheek! This was awesome! Finally, he was able to disturb this guy's dominating presence. He probably referred to Wally as someone who was extremely powerful. Seconds later, Wally circled around to return to the blond boy.

Kid Flash sent a left jab.

The glowing boy rolled backwards. The chest was too large of a spot. The blond did put up a fight at first, but then, he had to fall under the overwhelming pressure of the speedster's attack. What in the world was hot-head complaining about? This guy was no problem at all! As a matter of fact, he was dancing around this noob!

Kid Flash sent a left jab.

The glowing boy spun to the right. Wally was able to hit his elbow. Good! Now, there was a better chance of plowing through his defense. He couldn't completely rupture his guard, but this was a good start. Like water eroding earth, the red head's victorious blow would serve the first of many. This breach served towards more heavy hitters like Superboy or Aqualad. This way, he reflected, there was an easier opportunity of a good attack.

Kid Flash sent a left uppercut.

The glowing boy rolled to the left. Wally was unable to hit anything this time. His eyes widened at the sudden evasion. Astonishingly, all he noticed was a golden flash of light before the guy ducked down! No, the red-head shook his head. This meant nothing. The blond boy was going through various hand gestures again. At present, Wally wouldn't allow him to complete his objective. Pushing forward, Wally sprinted with his full speed.

Kid Flash sent a left jab.

The glowing boy lowered his body. Wally's mouth lightly gapped as the blond boy evaded a bullet of an attack. As he passed the unknown target, the red-head barely registered the charcoal cusp of the target's prized weapon. Snagging on the unmoving instrument of the blond teenager, Wally tumbled forward. Moments later, he felt the guy cupping his ankle, somersaulted forward, landing on his back and grasping the back of his neck in a swift suite.

Abruptly, glowing golden chains wrapped around. Within seconds, the fastest member of the Young Justice felt that he was encased in coiling warm, metal chains from his neck to the ankles.

He squirmed for a bit which earned a chuckle from his captor and a string of—seemingly—oriental jargon that he was unfamiliar with.

At the conclusion that he couldn't wriggle his way out, Kid Flash banged his head on the sands.

Damn it.

X-X

He heard the male target speak. There was no doubt about it.

He couldn't understand him but the black haired adolescent was forced to listen to him. His best friend's captor was supplying his words with a string of soft hand gestures. Currently, the guy's body movements just projected an aura of innocence and confusion.

His vocabulary…they were oddly oriental. Japanese, if anything, though, it did sound much more ancient. He could speak Japanese fluently like all the other fifteen languages that his mentor taught him. That's why Robin found it strange that he wasn't able to interpret the gibberish that littered out of his mouth but he was able to snatch the word 'watashi'.

And, that stood for something.

Batman's protégé tried to convey that they didn't wish to harm them and he remained calm in Japanese.

"_Rob…what are you doing?_"

The glowing target exclaimed, a huge grin plastered on his whiskered, laminating face. Then, the guy showered Robin with an assembly of words he wasn't familiar with. He was able to distinguish some that translated to 'lost', 'sand', 'happy', 'tired' and 'shadow'. Still, those were not enough to fully comprehend what the blond was trying to impart.

"_I think this guy—really—means us no harm._"

"_Rrrriiiiiggghhht. That's what you see from my current predicament,_" he could almost feel Wally's frown.

"_You look like a worm,_" Artemis cracked. "_So, I highly approve._"

"_Shut it!_"

Boy wonder shook his head, "_Yes, I do! Look, he could've maimed you. Get rid of all aggressors as fast as you can, then take care of the rest. It's one of the most logical courses to take when you're overwhelmed by numbers. But, he didn't. And, he definitely could've killed you earlier. But, again, he didn't._"

"_What is he doing then, gloating?_" Superboy asked through the mental link.

The guy was still talking. About now, Robin was unable to detect anything Japanese. The eastern tone was there, but it lacked any recognizable vocabulary.

"_No, try to stay concerted. He's trying to prove to us that he's willing to cooperate. That all of this is just a simple misunderstanding._"

Superboy furrowed his blue eyes, "_I don't buy it!_"

"_Me too,_" Kid Flash quipped, wiggling in shame.

"_I, on the other hand, agree with what you say. Words can serve as a great way to pacificate the male target,_" it came from their Atlantean team leader, Kaldur.

"_It won't hurt, right?_" Robin assured them.

Robin could see Kid Flash shaking uncomfortably again. "_Actually, I think the chains got tighter…_"

Performing to the best of his communication ability of Japanese, boy wonder cleared his throat to speak. He voiced their connection to the Justice League and that they were here to facilitate any assistance the glowing boy required.

The whiskered boy narrowed his eyes in confusion. A second later, a chain of unrecognizable jargon met him.

"_Well,_" Kid Flash said. "_What's he saying?!_"

A sigh escaped from Robin's mouth, "_Actually, I have no idea what he's saying._"

"_Figures,_" Superboy grunted.

"_I can establish a mental link with him. We don't have time to implant English into his mind, but I can translate for the time being._" Miss Martian suggested.

"_No! Don't you DARE do that!_" Superboy shouted. Robin comprehended that the Kryptonian still had an issue with introducing new people to his mind. He coped with the Team through strenuous scenarios. However this was immensely different. The person was a total stranger.

"_HEY! Don't yell at M'gann like that! It's an open option we can take! There's no need to be aggressive,_" Artemis fought back.

To his left, Robin could feel Superboy seething.

"_I-I didn't mean it like that. That choice is—_"

"_No, M'gann,_" Kaldur spoke with a relieving voice. "_We cannot take that opportunity. Robin try again._"

"_Ugh, I can't._" Boy wonder responded. "_All I understand is 'I', nothing more… I can't establish any language grounds with the guy._"

"_Well…what about his eye? We'll start from there. Maybe his injured or something,_" Wally inquired.

"_No,_" the youngest team member of the Team shook his head, "_Not an 'eye', you idiot. 'I' like the pronoun._"

"_Oh, sorry if I can't speak Japanese._"

Superboy rolled his eyes, "_Whatever! Look, this is getting us nowhere._"

"_BACK AWAY!_"

Robin whisked his head to the explosion that occurred in the atmosphere. Quite a distance from their position, they were able to see the descending body of the female Martian.

"M'GANN!"

The male target darted towards Artemis, Kaldur, M'gann, and Chelsey Hesh. Clutching his onyx elongated staff, he reached superhuman speeds and would reach their positions in a matter of seconds. His form became mistrustful. Robin's eyes expanded as a thought plummeted.

A possibility of taking out his team members presented itself.

No!

Before he could snatch a set of birdarangs from his utility belt, Superboy leaped forward.

"RRRRAAAAGGGGHHHH!"

The towering Kryptonian intersected the vibrant enemy and bombarded him with a flurry of fists. The audible booms were a testimony to his augmented super strength. Chelsey Hesh and Aqualad joined them too. Then—with their four forms—they were engulfed as it escalated in a cloud of sand, water, wind and dust.

Off to the right, Artemis was nursing the downed Martian.

His glance shifted to Wally's wrapped form.

The red head needed help too.

While the targets were snatched away by the attention of Superboy and Aqualad, Robin raced over to Kid Flash's struggling figure. He took out a birdarang that was built with a serrated edge.

Boy wonder slid and kneeled right next to his best friend with the intentions of freeing the speedster from the male target's magical chains. "What are you doing! Go help M'gann!" Kid Flash screamed.

"They have that covered! We need you combat able! Now," Robin hassled through cutting the chains. Though he found it incredibly difficult with the red-head's constant writhing. "Hold still!"

"Hurry up!"

"I'm trying," Robin cleaved what he thought to be an anchor point. With no such luck, the chain remained clasped together.

After a few more slashes, Robin inspected the chains. He didn't even scratch the surface.

His shoulders slumped. It's no use.

He couldn't free him.

Robin looked up and studied the combatants several meters away from him and Kid Flash.

The first person his covered eyes settled on was the brightly flaming target that swerved his body out of Conner's punch. Slapping his right arm out of the way, the whiskered boy descended as his knees bent in formation. Tracking his course, Robin witnessed that Aqualad was the next person standing in his way. In his lowered form, the unnamed combatant was able to clutch the Atlantean's left ankle and, in an impressive strength, flung him out of the way.

The brunette, sand manipulator was the only thing left standing in his way. It was now obvious that his sole purpose was disposing Hesh. A right hook whipped through and closely struck the brunette on her cheek if she didn't evade out of the way. Almost instantly, the guy swung his black instrument in a powerful chamber. She was able to miss it by raising a sand platform that vaulted her over him, Kaldur and Conner.

The blond decimated the earthy pillar she erected.

"You'll pay for what you did to her!" Superboy howled as he cocked his left arm back.

Hesh chuckled teasingly while she ducked under his sweeping attack.

Robin transitioned from Superboy to Kaldur. The Atlantean wasn't faring any better. Even with only one free hand, the unnamed teenager was able to place Kaldur in locks, wrestling holds and various grapples. There wasn't any doubt that the blond target was efficient in martial arts. His hand to hand skills went through the roof, actually, and that irritated the boy wonder who worked most of his life breathing fighting styles.

Aqualad bent his right knee forward in an effort to balance his body as his right arm (wielding a small mace water-bearer) swept across. His enemy twisted in the air, completely evading his water weapon. Somehow, the whiskered teenager struck his staff vertically bruising the Atlantean's right thigh. When he grounded, the vibrantly cloaked teenager smashed his staff against torso.

It knocked him back a few meters.

Determined to help their downed leader, Robin raced over to Aqualad to interrupt the enemy's combo.

"WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU GOING?" cried Wally.

He couldn't help Wally anymore, but he wasn't going to idle by and witness the death of one of his close friend. Robin was going to head over there, tackle the glimmering bastard, save Aqualad and have him rally back the squad.

But, before that, he was going to assist Superboy too.

Fortunately, he'd already progressed further within the reach of his birdarangs. He flicked two of low-exploding variation just in case she was able to swat them away.

Unexpectedly, she eluded them by perfectly twisting her torso and bending her knees. The explosions didn't even bother her as his weapons sailed farther than he expected.

As she sequenced through her broadened motions, however, she was unable to react to Superboy's dangerous advances. He sent a devastating uppercut as he roared blaringly.

His stocked fist penetrated her chest.

Robin ceased all of his movements. His eyes threatened to roll out of their sockets at the sight. Words wouldn't come out of his mouth or it wouldn't stream through the mind link since M'gann hasn't recuperated yet.

"OH MY GOD!" His mind barely registered the blond archer's shrieks.

Crimson body fluids gushed out.

Conner killed her!

His head twitched, fright echoing out onto the dunes. His arm was shaking uncontrollably, "I-I-I d-didn't mean t-to!"

Currently, Robin found it unbelievable.

"I swear!"

"You're such a drama queen," Hesh wrapped her slender arms around his neck.

Out of nowhere, a large explosion erupted; enveloping Superboy in blazing fire and smoke.

X-X

A mountainous cloud of smoke concealed an expansive volume of space. He couldn't see if the boy was okay. He wanted to be optimistic of his condition, but that remained unlikely. Chakra burst in a moment's notice. No one was close enough to be able to save him in time.

The shortest boy to his left and the blond archer he saved earlier screeched for their comrade. This was probably their first death…how unfortunate.

But, he couldn't spend any more time contemplating their sorrows. One body was missing. And to him, a concealed enemy was dangerous, even in his prevalence circumstance.

What annoyed him more so was that he was duped by another clone of hers…

What the hell!

That was supposed to be his specialty.

An unanticipated whirlwind of condensed chakra gathered. Naruto whipped his head towards the direction it originated.

His sapphire eyes stretched to their limits.

Cardinal and cerulean orbs spiraled into a massive obsidian sphere of synergized energy. The sheer destructive volume of that technique was immeasurable. It would lay waste to all of them. Furthermore, she had managed to merge most of the energy already for him to retaliate. It was definitely too late for counter measures now.

But…if he could somehow redirect it.

Sapphire eyes perched on a dark-skinned teenager with eel tattoos. He was also petrified, "Ey man!"

The blond garnered his attention.

"Look, I'm gonna use the Hiraishin to teleport the blast away from us! This way we'll survive! But, I need you to tell them to stay with me! It's better for my chakra to shield them when they're a lot closer to me! Can you do that?!"

He remained silent, probably couldn't understand anything he said.

"I. AM. TRYING. TO. PROTECT. YOU!"

Still, nothing.

Naruto grinded his teeth in frustration.

Shit!

He'd have to do this all by himself.

The brunette with the ball of oblivion was behind the blond girl with the green bow. She obstructed him, but that was easily rectifiable. The Uzumaki heir threw his onyx staff over her head. Next, he hurled a three-pronged Hiraishin kunai northward with a little assistance of wind chakra. It sailed perfectly with a considerate distance.

A pair of legs slithered under his stance. They clasped in between his limbs and he fell down in a grappling hold thanks to the dark-skinned teenager he recently trusted not to pull stunts like these.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" Naruto screeched.

The Bijūdama was almost ready; it just needed more seconds to gather the isolated chakra orbs that littered about.

Out of the corner of his eyes, the blond archer fired off an arrow. Why they decided to attack the blond now, was boggling him. They could've snatched the opportunity earlier when he was busy staring at the black mass of doom. But, nooo. These assholes had to disrupt any grounds of protection he was presently inaugurating.

Her piercing arrow was en route.

12 meters…

7 meters…

3 meters…

But, it would never reach him.

He disappeared in a golden flash before the arrow could touch him.

Naruto reappeared near his onyx staff. He brought the eel-tattooed bastard with him, unfortunately. That was out of his control. The guy touched him in the last second. How did he know the bastard was going to latched onto him. Though, he was pleased to discover that after they flickered back into dunes he was separated from the dark skinned teenager.

Springing back to the soles of his feet, Naruto clutched onto his staff dearly. Originally, when he had this weapon produced, Tenten was kind enough to imprint it with the Hiraishin formula. It made his moves more flexible when he could teleport his enemies in the blink of an eye.

And now, it was about to perform past its job description.

Chakra arms emerged from his body. He struggled to snatch the blond archer and the caped boy, but with the other three totally indisposed, it was a piece of cake.

The woman fired.

The Bijūdama soared across. A thin layer of sands disintegrated under the scorching trail of heat the bullet emitted. It took mere milliseconds for it to reach the blond.

Under the cloak of Kurama's chakra, the ball might as well travel like a slug. A net of chakra fished out and snagged the Bijūdama at the core. In the last moment, he was able to catch it under the grasp of the Hiraishin.

A gargantuan dome of annihilating energy burst forth. He deposited the Bijūdama over a vast amount of distance. The knife was successfully heaved hundreds of meters across the ocean of sand. The force reverberated around. It managed to stretch to Naruto's position. Although by then it was nothing but a suppressed wall of wind that simply knocked them off their feet.

His chakra cloak evaporated moments later. The young Hokage delegated sections of his chakra in order to shield the other people from the blast. Not the wisest course of action, he admitted. Naruto had to illustrate that he didn't come here harm any of them. That was the intention of the crazy lady who exhaled such an expunging force of attack.

Though, that was the least of his worries.

Two lashing punches connected with his temple. A snapping kick hammered him back a few meters. In the middle of her unsuspecting onslaught, Naruto foolishly dropped his shakujō which reverted back to its golden form. Flittering back, the whiskered village leader exhaled a glob of blood.

His jaw plummeted. In the next second, he felt her CLAMPING onto Kurama's chakra! What the hell? Where did she get the knowledge to extract tailed beasts?

"Son of a bit—"

The brunette woman was madly laughing, "She told me how to do it! She knew that it would lower you to this. And, my powerful Naruto…I'm going to take it!"

"NOPE! YOU AIN'T GETTING HIM!"

There was a colossal crimson line that began from Naruto's belly and ended at Chelsey's hands. In this energy tug of war, she had the dominating presence. It didn't help the blond at all when some of Kurama's chakra diverted to nursing his wounds rather than enhancing his strengths. What's worse was as she tugged, he felt his insides being plucked. The drawling pain progressed with each yank.

"Stop struggling boy! Just a little more and the pain will go away!"

Nope.

_Chelsey was staring at her palms. She sat on a sturdy mahogany bench outside her trailer home. The powerful summer sun-rays showered her in its blistering heat. Her mama didn't allow her to go inside. She once again disappointed her in academics. But, it wasn't her fault! Little Jenny needed help in nurturing that poor bird they found by the riverbed._

_They cracked the windows open, so Chelsey could pick up Mama's voice. "That kid's a retard, Kurt!"_

_"She wouldn't be so troubled if you decide to get off your inattentive ass!"_

_Mama gasped, "HOW DARE YOU! How y'think I'm supposed to teach her if she ain't hearin' nuthin'?"_

Nu-uh.

_"Look, I'm sorry Chelsey. We gotta let you go."_

_The brunette stood inside the cream-colored office of her manager. It wasn't relatively big. It had enough space for his desk, an old computer, a couple of metal filing cabinet, and a brown chair. His table was cluttered with paperwork, a couple water bottles and crumbs of what was once a breakfast banana muffin._

_"No, no, no, no, no, Bill please…" Chelsey clasped her hands together. An unshakable tension started to boil inside her mind._

_The man shook his head, "I can't count on you on the register. Every time I look away you're always staring at those damn clouds ignoring the customers!"_

_"Please," Chelsey croaked. "I'll have it under control! I've been seeing a psychiatrist, Doctor Einstrom. She's good! She says she can help me."_

_"I'm sorry…it's out of my hands. The regional department already did all the papers. Your last day will be on the 5th of March. There's nothing I can do."_

_The brunette covered her face as tears cascaded down._

Ain't nothing was gonna make him listen to her.

_The brunette mother stood in front of her five year old son. A disk of black and blue blemish was visible on Jack's left cheek. Chelsey was tending to his sizable injury with a dab of ointment when she spoke, "Why did you get in a fight?"_

_"He hit me first! Dad says 'don't show any weaknesses'. So, I punched him back."_

_"Stop listening to your father," she frowned. "You can be just as strong without relying on violence!"_

_Jack snorted, "I don't want to be a wuss."_

_"No. You can be better than them by ignoring the bullies and act maturely. That's another sign of strength."_

_"What do you know about being strong? You're just a girl," Jack scowled as he filtered through their refrigerator._

_She placed both hands on her hips, "Excuse me!"_

_"Dad says that men will always be stronger than women."_

_"Well, your father is wrong!"_

_Her son rolled his eyes and made way for his room._

_"Hey! We aren't finished talking," he ignored her. Marching over before he could escape, the brunette clutched his lanky arm forcefully. "Don't disrespect me!"_

_"ARGH!" Jack cringe in pain._

_Abruptly, Chelsey relinquished her hold. "I-I-I'm s-sorry. I didn't me—"_

_"LEAVE ME ALONE!" He continued towards his bedroom. Jack was caressing his skinny right arm. "You're so pathetic…"_

He wrangled for Kurama's power. There was no way in hell he was going to let this bitch take his friend!

Chelsey heaved, "I REFUSE to go back!"

The young Hokage gazed at the lower half of Kurama's snout. "T-this chakra…t-t-th-here's…no doubt…it…"

"Hold…onto my…chakra," Naruto let out through gritted teeth. "YOU NINE-TAILED BASTARD!"

"K-KAGUYA!"

The blond could only stare at Chelsey as she gulped Kurama down her system as if he was a satisfying delicacy. She smirked at Naruto. Tendrils of light brown hair swayed while she ascended. Smoke emanated of her frame. Her cheeks became fuller, her pale ghostly skin livened, and the tiny bits of malnutrition vanished. Overall, Chelsey became more visually appealing.

In the midst of her acclivity, she blew him a kiss. From an audible crack in the atmosphere, the brunette flew out of range.

Slowly, Naruto closed his eyes.

X-X

The Team journeyed back to the Bio-ship. At present, Aqualad was carrying an unconscious Superboy whose vitals stabilized a few minutes earlier, Artemis had an incapacitated Miss Martian on her back, and Robin and Kid Flash each took an arm of the whiskered boy; they heaved the sidelined teen, balancing his weight between the two of them. The youngest member of the Team found a way to strap the blond's discarded golden ringed-staff on his back.

Kid Flash groaned displeasingly, "This guy's incredibly heavy." The red head furrowed his eyes at his best friend. "Are you even helping with the weight or am I doing everything here?"

"Will you quit yapping? You've said that at least four times since Kaldur asked you to pick him up," Artemis snapped.

Before the speedster could counter, Robin decided to speak ahead of him, "Seven times actually."

"Do you want to trade?" Aqualad tried to fully smirk but all he established was a lopsided smile. Fatigue was written all over his face. Robin wanted to say something, probably to tell him to ease off or take a break. He knew that steadying a Kryptonian on your shoulders was not a small feat. Still, Atlanteans were incredibly proud and if you snatch that away from them there would be hell to pay. So, boy wonder decided to stay silent for the better of his friend.

The red head stared at the body of the stocked Kryptonian. He seemed to consider it for a brief second, "No thanks…"

The blond archer spoke through a set of weighty panting. "Kaldur, how are you holding out? I have a little bit more water in my pack."

"I am fine," the Atlantean warrior responded. Robin, again, highly doubted that he truly was. It was mostly likely just appearances so that it wouldn't complicate the Team.

They progressed closer to the Bio-ship. Since Miss Martian got taken out by Chelsey Hesh, she wasn't able to contact the Bio-ship for a quick pick up. Instead, they had to walk a few hundred meters southwest where they left the flying vehicle. Once they had everyone facilitated, he would establish communications and call for reinforcements. Batman and the other Leaguers have to be informed on what transpired. And, from all of the events recently, they had no choice but to spill everything.

There was a great certainty that all of this would result in an international complication. In order for the Justice League to swiftly clean the situation, they needed every single detail out of them; Batman would certainly badger on until he received satisfying answers.

The aerodynamic obsidian frame out the Batplane came into view. It landed adjacent to the Team's Bio-ship. Boy wonder raised his brow in confusion. The Leaguers actually heard his radio calls awhile ago?

A few minutes later, the passengers of the Batplane came to greet them halfway. Batman, Black Canary, Captain Marvel, Zatanna and Zatara hastily moved towards them.

"GUYS!" Zatanna shouted in magician garb that consisted of white buttoned shirt, a yellow vest that matched her father, a white bow-tie, black jacket, black skirt, gray leggings, and a pair of black knee-topped boots.

"Oh!" Artemis looked exhilarated upon seeing more support. "I'm sooo glad you guys got here!"

Black Canary assisted Artemis in holding the female Martian, "What happened to Conner and M'gann?! Are they okay?"

"Both of their vitals stabilized…" Robin studied his free wrist. "Five minutes and thirty-three seconds ago."

Black Canary and Zatanna visibly sighed at the conclusion of their friends' and or wards' safety.

"I didn't think you'd pick up on my calls," Robin remarked as he made eye contact with his mentor.

Batman shook his head, "The radio was silence on the way here. We came as soon as Zatara warned us about an unknown player."

"So, we did suffer from radio interference…" Kaldur suspiciously commented as he wiped a large blob of perspiration off his forehead.

Kid Flash pointed to the blond body he was carrying with Boy Wonder, "It'd be this guy."

"Was he the one that detonated that explosion?!" Zatara asked, slightly steadying his cane in front of him. He was also standing in between the Team and Zatanna.

"Yes..." Batman narrowed his blank eyes, "What happened?"

"It is not what you think…That boy he sav—" Kaldur faltered. He was going to crash on the ground had Captain Marvel not swooped in to steady Robin's Atlantean team leader.

"AQUALAD!"

"Dude!"

"Kaldur!"

Captain Marvel studied the dark skinned Atlantean for a few seconds, "You look severely dehydrated. How long have you gone without water?"

"I-I'm f-f-fine," Kaldur stubbornly replied.

However, Captain Marvel disagreed, "You're in serious need of medical attention. We have to go back to the cave right now."

"Did you pack the IV's into the Bio-ship like I asked yesterday?" Kid Flash gave a nod. He was the one delegated to weekly organize the supply checklist. Black Canary glared at Batman, "Then, we have to go. The debriefing can wait."

"Wait," the dark knight pressed on. "Who is he?"

"A possible asset. Though he attacked us earlier, we couldn't just leave him in the desert to die. And, he can recount for most of what happened," Robin answered.

Batman nodded. That seemed to satisfy him enough for them to continue. "All of you will ride on the Bio-ship. It's a lot faster than the Batplane and it can facilitate everyone." The caped crusader turned to the platinum woman in dark clothing. "I don't want him in the Cave so head to the Mores Island Outpost. Bring all of the team into the medical wing. I want a full medical examination."

Captain Marvel carried Superboy and M'gann, supporting each body on his shoulders. Flying, he hastily traveled to the red Martian plane. Black Canary supported Kaldur by propping his right arm across her shoulder. They, Zatanna, Artemis and Kid Flash (each supporting an arm of the unconscious blond) rapidly made their way back to Bio-ship. Zatara and Robin were ready to go as well, but an onyx glove stopped them.

"You'll pilot. No one else has logged in more simulations than you," the stealth specialist nodded his head in acknowledgment. The caped crusader then turned to the magician leaguer. "Place the boy in the isolation room. Give him full medical attention as well. Under no circumstances is he permitted to leave the room if he wakes before I get there."

The middle aged magician inclined his head understandingly.

"What about you? What are you gonna do." Robin asked.

Batman turned around to walk back to his plane, "Janitorial duties."

X-X

Bruce walked back to his plane. On the console of his vehicle he pushed some brightened buttons. After a rhythmic static, a voice articulated through the speakers. "_This is Superman, you're loud and clear. Still need me to investigate?_"

"No. That issue is long diffused," Batman spoke as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Do me a favor: zeta with Captain Atom and Martian Manhunter to Arlit and rendezvous to my position."

There was a long pause; Bruce assumed that Clark took the time to search the region he was referring to. "_You want us to go to Niger? What are you doing way over there?_"

"Something's happened."

* * *

**[A/N] **I told you I'd update in a week. Did I deliver, or what? And it's a colossal one too! It's large enough to capture a blonde young woman dressed in a white dress, climb the Empire State building, and battle groups of planes. By now, you should have a pretty clear idea of what I've set up so far in this story. **Leave me a PM if you're confused on something.  
**

As to why Naruto didn't die from having Kurama separated from him, I'll address that in a few chapters.

So...there's been a minor boo-boo that's been in the other chapters. I've done all the necessary edits to rectify that one little annoying detail that went undetected. Since the episode 'Revelation' from Young Justice to 'Coldhearted', Kid Flash is suppose to have a right brace on his arm. So, I fixed all that so for all of you that like to nitpick.

Also, for those of you who haven't caught on: The Sahara Desert incident takes a few days after 'Humanity' episode. I'll put a clearer timetable later on. I have a few plans as to why I've kept you in the dark of the setting for so long.

Furthermore, it looks like Madara won't die how I imagined it, if you've been keeping up with the manga. It's one of the hazards of making a story with a background closely following cannon. For now, I'll pull the old 'AU' card on this story. And Madara controlling Chelsey Hesh was never part of the original plan anyways. I put him there as a means of misdirection.

One last thing. I actually got the summer internship I've been dreaming about! I'll try to update every two-three weeks. Considering on my tight schedule, I'll update whenever I'm able. Don't worry. I don't plan to abandon this story...it's just it's been my goal to have Intel Co. under my experience belt so I'm prioritizing this first.

**So, tell me what you think so far, yeah?**


	5. Habituate

5. Habituate

**I don't own Naruto or Young Justice. This story was constructed for pure entertainment and nothing more.**

* * *

Naruto snapped his eyes open.

He had been in this situation before; therefore it wasn't really all that strange to the Uzumaki heir. After Obito extracted Kurama—for the very first time—Naruto had felt the stinging after effects that rolled through with such a dangerous procedure. Yes, that had been nearly eight months ago, but he could still distinctly remember everything that ancient geezer told him. There wasn't a time in the day where he hasn't seared it deep inside the caverns of his cranium. If he wasn't given another chance to speak with the Sage of Six Paths, then this routine would continue.

So when the blond sensed that he had entered his mind, he just sort of shrugged and impatiently waited to find out when he would be able to walk in the physical realm once again. After all, the blond had to recover Kurama back. This time, though, nothing would stand in his way. Naruto discarded some of the fox's chakra in order to save those brats. It was a foolish mistake that he vowed he wouldn't make again. The cost of his friend's well being wasn't nearly equal to what the whiskered Uzumaki received. He didn't know the kids.

They were strangers to him.

Plus, they almost killed him.

Actually, no.

He reconsidered. They barely scraped him.

The blond had to rephrase his thought.

It was Chelsey that almost killed him.

Nonetheless, there was hell to pay once he got back to the physical realm. He just had to find someone here, make a life-altering decision, get crazy strong, kick ass, take names and repeat. It happened before and the cerulean-eyed Hokage figured that if it didn't kill him first time, why would it the second time? His thin eyebrows furrowed in thought. What had Kakashi told him as a joke again…what doesn't kill you makes you stronger?

No, that wasn't it. It was severely lamer and cliché-er than that…if that was a word; which should be by the way. Saying 'more cliché' just took too much effort than it naturally should.

When he returns to Konoha, with Kurama, that would be the first thing he was going to decree.

Actually—rebounding back to the topic at hand—if he accepted that logic, he should've been infinitely stronger by now; though that has neither transpired or a possible eventuality. It kind of left him an uncomfortable taste in his mouth that throughout his life it had been really morbid. Ever since his first breath of air, there weren't any space for happiness at all.

A pair of sparkling cerulean orbs gradually revealed to the environment around him. He couldn't see anything at first. The light was too bright and his eyes haven't adjusted to their level of intensity yet. However a second later, the colors of the world invaded his vision.

Above his lean, top-class athletic physique was a soaring tree. Naruto was astonished to observe the trunk achieve sky-scraping heights. As tall as the tree was, it was anchored by a staunchly congregated rows of roots that bowed around him. A mass of incalculable mixture of green and yellow leaves clothed the elephantine branches. The spools of green foliage were able to shade his figure from the shimmering rays of the sun. A pillar of light broke through, however, bathing his face with its welcoming glow.

The whiskered Uzumaki gently elevated himself. Reaching a considerate height, he was able to drink in his surroundings. He stood in the middle of a small island. In front of him, there was a bridge constructed of bamboos. Ingrained on the railings, it was beautifully adorned with emeralds. To his right, there was a fountain that overflowed with strange aquamarine-colored water. Upon further inspection, his eyebrow hiked at the conclusion that the fountain was made out of wood.

Beyond the short bamboo bridge, there was a land that was probably five times bigger than the island he was currently settled in. It was littered with palm trees, a village of bamboos, various hues of sapphire and jade flowered bushes and gigantic boulders. A family of shelled-reptilians lazily skirted along the sandy edges of the land.

Turtles?

What were they doing inside his mind?

Cerulean orbs furrowed in confusion. Was he even in his mind? He didn't know there was a place beyond the depressing pipes, colossal gates that robbed your freedom and melancholy droplets of water that tinkled down.

Did he finally die and ascended to his tropical heaven?

The blond surveyed the beach. His cognizance proclaimed that that wasn't so. The dazzling tropical sands were barren of celebrating girls dressed in skimpy swimwear. If it was the other side of the coin, this was probably hell and he had to spend it in isolation.

Concluding that it was a good time to go about, Naruto walked to the bigger island. He wouldn't get answers just standing around and the blond recognized that there were more to explore further in. He wasn't able to see past the party of bamboos either, so the only thing that made sense was to search around the island.

As he got closer to the—what seemed like—core of the bigger island, his ears were able to pick up male voices that floated above him.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

A boisterous laugh rang out. It originated past several walls of bamboos before him. Pushing them aside, he stopped at the last row to observe the clearing in front of him. In the midst of a crowd of bamboos was a considerable lily pond. It had the same aquamarine colored traits as the water in the wooden fountain, Naruto connected. Beside the body of water, two men lounged around a small mahogany table garnished with wooden tea sets. The cups steamed delightfully and the blond was able to pick up the savory scent of earl grey.

One was a sitting elderly man who wore a white kimono and a large necklace with 6 prayer beads. He had gray, short spiky hair, two locks—of which—were wrapped in bandages framing either side of his face. On the back of his kimono was a Rinnegan-like marking with a pattern of nine magatamas arranged in three rows of three beneath it.

To his right, there was another man who was clad in a red kimono with a black slash wrapping around his waist. He had matching black, long waist-length hair. The long haired man was wearing a gold ring with a sizable emerald rock that situated on its throne. An irritating look plastered on his face, "Please! You're too loud! It's aggravating the animals around us."

His companion snorted indignantly, "Hashirama." Naruto's eyes widened at the identification of the man. He couldn't believe at the strange reunion that was about to transpire. "Why does that matter?"

The first Hokage tore his gaze away from the man. Crossing his arms, the Senju leader huffed, "Not really. I just said that so it made you reconsider your actions. I was more worried about myself you see…I don't like your rambunctious behavior."

"Tobi was right. You are brutally honest." His companion declared flatly.

Hashirama's shoulders dropped considerably as if an incredible weight descended, "I'm sorry."

"Ehh?" The spiky haired stranger responded. He pointed at the saddened individual to his right, "Don't go all depressed on me!"

Grinding his teeth, a vein bulged from the God of Shinobi's forehead, "Bah! That little brother of mine…" He lifted his rattling fist high. "He was always spouting, nitpicking every single negative details about me."

The other man beamed wildly, "That's right! Speaking of your negative details, I remember once, I peeked at your memories."

"YOU DID?!" The blond snickered as Hashirama's eyes almost rolled out of their sockets.

"Hell yeah!" The spiky stranger exclaimed, a mischievous smirk stretched out, "It was when you just recently found out about your Mokuton ability. You were testing the waters…as it were. But, at the SAME time, you were experiencing sexual difficulties with your girlfrie—"

Naruto's brain stopped functioning.

What the hell was happening?

"Please. I BEG OF YOU." The blond was agreeing with the perverted Hokage. "Stop."

The stranger pouted. Naruto could've sworn that the man was tearing out a little, "But I like this story! Lemme continue!"

"I refuse!" Hashirama screeched.

"Come on, Haaaasssshhhiiii!" The man clasped his palms together, shaking them wildly in front of the Senju leader. "I'll teach you that one move of mine where I can sharpen the edges of the leaves to make a makeshift shuriken." His eyes twinkled, "You know you want it…"

The blond hoped the first Hokage would deny his sad, futile attempts at extortion.

Hashirama closed his eyes as his chin sunk, "…fine."

The whiskered Uzumaki shook his head, obviously displeased by the emotionally vulnerable shell of the first Hokage before him.

A victorious grin erupted from the stranger's lips, "Sweet! Honestly, this is good for you. Reminiscing can help you release all that frustration you've built up all these years."

"…why?" The—once—honorable shinobi gravely asked.

His companion waved his hand dismissively, "I had to. Well, anyways…where was I?" He raised his hands to rake his gray, spiky locks as his nose wrinkled in thought, "Oh, that's right! Your sexual experimentation with your honey using Mokuton jutsus…"

Naruto exited from the forest of bamboos. He couldn't take this conversation anymore. Not only did he want the First's image to stay as it were, but, at the same time, Naruto had to tell him what's what. If Hashirama wasn't going to do it, the blond Uzumaki had to take the matters into his own hands. The pervert couldn't be trusted to handle things anymore. The blond teenager had to end this disturbing discussion here and now.

Dark eyes greeted his cerulean ones, "Who are you?"

The Mokuton user followed the gaze of his companion. Hashirama's shock was overabounding at the sight of his blond successor. His silence drifted as unending as time. The first Hokage's jaw had plummeted to the ground. The small crater that formed was a testimony to the strength of his disbelief.

Naruto stared at him, "You're sick."

"SON OF FOURTH!" Turning to his spiky companion, steam blew from his ears, "YOU PLANNED THIS!"

Said man was rolling on the floor, clutching onto his sides for dear life; for extra measures, he even pointed at the Mokuton pervert, "AHAHAHAHAHAHAH! You should see your face!"

Abruptly, Hashirama rose to gather what was left of his character. Gradually he advanced forward until his body was mere centimeters away from the blonde's, "Naruto! I SWEAR to you! This man is a pathological liar. You shouldn't listen to everything he spouts!"

"Don't come near me, you pent up coot!" Sun kissed spiky locks billowed recklessly as the blond sprung to the other side of the pond. He wouldn't dare touch the geezer; much less allow him to stroll within his vicinity. "I don't wanna catch your disease!"

"Run boy! He can make obscene wooden toys in seconds!" The stranger hollered, impishness evident in his tone.

Tears avalanched everlastingly from Hashirama's obsidian eyes, "STOP ADDING TO IT!"

For some bizarre reason, the Senju leader followed Naruto across the pond. In an effort to reclaim what was left of his dignity, it seemed to the Uzumaki heir, the black haired Hokage's message would be best received if the blond listened to him and not his companion.

But, Naruto would have none of that.

Still startled from the God of Shinobi's dark past, the whiskered Uzumaki wouldn't permit him crossing the ten meter threshold. When the perverted shinobi shot through the imaginary line, Naruto did what he was forced to do. Meeting his Hokage predecessor halfway, the blond sent a demolishing uppercut to his chin. The Senju was careened onto a crowd of bamboo trees that broke his fall.

The stranger was on his knees. He was slapping the grass violently, "AHAHAHAHAHAHAH! He made you fly!"

"And, YOU." The unsettled teenager savagely turned to him. He was seeing red and there was no way of stopping him from acquiring much needed answers. "Who the hell're you?!"

"Ehh? You don't know?" The kimono dressed man wheezed as he wiped a satisfied tear from his eye. As his vociferous manner of expression died down, a triumphant grin stretched his lips, "You're staring at the magnificent and all powerful, Ashura Ōtsutsuki."

X-X

MORES ISLAND OUTPOST  
October 13, 21:02 EDT

Clark was staring at the recuperating blond boy through the isolation room's observational one-way window. He was stripped of his black and orange clothing, placed into an oatmeal-colored hospital gown. The whiskered teenager was lying on the bed. Against his wishes, Batman had the boy's arms shackled to the side of the railing by using a thick, bi-layered forearm cuffs to disrupt the possibility of his wind-natured attacks. For extra measures, the dark knight placed a dome attachment to cover his hands. The medical instruments like brain and heart monitors, IV tubes that siphoned medical supplements, a fingertip oximeter that clamped onto his left index finger and a slightly-hidden catheter surrounded the boy to assist him towards his speedy recovery.

The Man of Steel raised his chin high as he recollected everything that had transpired today. Completely preventing the robbers' escape in the white van and saving an African-American senior football player from the deathly clutches of deflected bullet, the Kryptonian was bewildered that now he and his dark clad best friend had to mop up the remaining mess that followed after the Team's brawl.

It all began when they met up in the middle of the Sahara Desert where Batman was collecting evidence. Upon their arrival, the caped crusader was carrying a portable radioactive measurement device that Clark was so unfamiliar with and transparent spheres that contained several ounces of sands. Insistently, he kept reminding Captain Atom, Martian Manhunter and Superman that the 'sands' could still tell them something. Clark, internally, concluded that his friend was desperately clinging for answers. After Bats delegated Martian Manhunter and him to confront the media, country liaisons, and military officials, he asked Captain Atom to remain and join him in their quest for information gathering.

"So," the platinum blond, young leaguer beside him was also staring at the comatose occupant of the isolation room. "What did you guys do after we left?"

Clark caressed the back of his neck to relieve an aching sensation, "You know the general drill. A team of leaguers distract the eyes and cameras while another team analyzes the crime scene before local authorities can contaminate it."

"I take it you were smoke screen?" Black Canary asked with an amused smile.

The blue-eyed Kryptonian frowned playfully, "Bats never lets me in on all the CSI stuff."

"Well, if you don't mind," the blonde began as her eyes glided towards his, "What did you tell the press exactly?"

Superman caged his sapphire orbs and sighed before answering her curiosity, "The usual run-down. Justice League didn't participate in the incident, we have no idea who the perpetrators are, we don't know their motives, and League officials will further investigate. All that jazz…which, for the most part, is actually true. The only problem that we came across with was Bialya."

"Don't tell me he involved them!" Black Canary stressed out with a quiet gasp.

"Almost," Clark narrowed his blue eyes, "The blast was so close to the border. The kid might as well knock on their doors. Actually, I think their communication towers noticed it and alerted the higher ups. It's probably the reason why a few Bialyan officials came to us for answers. But, like always, we redirected them. "

"You didn't mention the boy?" Black Canary raised her eyebrow at his response.

"I saw no need." The Man of Steel stared at the rhythmic breathing of the unnamed blond, "No one saw the kid as we extracted the Team out. There were no drones in the air." Clark cupped his chin as he tried to remember everything. "No random bystanders that saw everything. It was in the middle of the desert so there weren't really any CCTV's posted around. The only thing we were worried about was satellite feeds from different intelligent organizations. Fortunately for us, there were no images to relay."

"How are you so sure?"

Superman glanced at her azure eyes, "Batman had Red Tornado and Martian Manhunter do an entire digital sweep using League scanners. Took them nearly two hours. I'm glad that we got away."

Black Canary nodded her head in agreement, "Yes, we were lucky."

Then, Clark frowned as a realization dawned on him, "It's probably the only good thing that happened these past few hours…"

The dark form of his best friend came into view. Ambulating down the medical hall were Batman, Captain Atom, Martian Manhunter, Red Tornado and Zatara. The dark knight stopped in front of the metallic passage of the isolation room. "Superman, I've brought everyone."

"Where's Captain Marvel?" Black Canary noted that they were short one leaguer.

"Zeta-ed back to the homeland. He said that it was crucial that he return to Fawcett City." Batman reported.

After the bodies positioned themselves into a circle, the dark knight verbally took note of every single Justice League member that was present. He had Zatara block off the sounds that were sure to echo throughout the halls. The seven leaguers gathered right outside the isolation room which was another expansion of the medical wing. While it wasn't intended for jailing its occupants, the room currently served the perfect vessel for containing the unidentified teenager.

Batman narrowed his blank eyes into slits. The journalist fully understood that the caped billionaire didn't like to repeat himself. "Just so that everyone understands and is aware of the situation, I'm going to tell you what transpired six hours earlier. From what I was able to gather from Aqualad and Robin, the team faced two targets in the Sahara Desert. Chelsey Hesh is the identified female target, while our unknown guest is the male target. According to Aqualad, they weren't able to subdue Chelsey Hesh or the unknown. The boy is going through a comatose state after Hesh separated a crimson energy from his body. Whether it is his source of power remains to be verified."

Clark had to admit that he was a little perplexed at the rising situation that was right in front of him. He was trying to untangle every single, tiny detail about the incident. There were numerous aspects to reconsider and—embarrassingly—neither Captain Atom nor he could follow since the beginning of this plight. And, THAT spoke volumes due to his fame for having the ability to outrun a bullet. Recognizing that, his mind shouldn't have any problems with playing catch up at all.

"We have to put up extra precautions just in case," Clark heard Zatara speak up.

"League systems security protocols have already been established," the dark knight answered.

But, the magician leaguer wouldn't have it, "He has the aptitude to tap into the mystic energy. A machine won't be able to stand against someone of his caliber."

"I disagree." Clark glanced at the red android with a yellow 'T' on his chest as well as a yellow arrow on his forehead. The tall android stood expressionless with his blue, high collared cape, "He may have characteristics past human standards, but he is still organic."

"Though it exponentially decreased since, I've been able to sense his power as we transferred him here. This is my way of confirming his potential for destruction," Zatara retaliated. Clark could understand the grounds the magician leaguer was taking. His daughter had participated on a couple minor roles on missions since the Team was able to recover Red Tornado. If she had joined them on this particular assignment, Zatanna would've been laying on one of the medical beds—half of the Team were currently tenanting.

His dark caped best friend let out a sharp sigh, "I wish we knew more about him…"

"I siphoned through a few memories before I was forced to exit his mind, none of which were about him…They were his fond memories of his friends and loved ones. Remarkably, this boy has discovered a way to block any mental checkpoints I have attempted to inaugurate." Martian Manhunter informed them.

Clark was forced to express his shocked at that detail, "That's impossible! He's unconscious, so you should be able to simply walk in!"

"Yes," The slightly taller green skinned leaguer turned to him, "That is what worries me the most."

"See!" Zatara shouted; he slammed his foot forward gaining all of their attention. "All the more reasons to exercise caution."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Everyone looked to the strongly built man, who was completely covered in silver with the exception of his red hands, feet, and an atom crest on his chest. "We don't want to picture ourselves as aggressors. If the boy assumed the Team was harming him, then he acted in self defense. All of this could just be a simple misunderstanding."

Clark lifted a brow at his words, "You're defending him? He fought off six people to a standstill, right? So, all of that included a Martian, an Atlantean, someone who can outrun a bullet, two teenagers with an array of explosives in their arsenal, and…"

"Superboy," Black Canary finished for him with a hand on her left hip. Clark couldn't put a finger on it, but she seemed irked for a reason.

"Yes," Clark drawled out, "Him."

Captain Atom held his palms parallel, "Look, don't get me wrong. I'm not happy with what happened to the Team. But, that doesn't mean we should further discriminate the boy. Naturally, we're all attached to the kids, but someone has to look out for him—especially. From what the Team told us, they didn't establish communication. They recognized what he was fully capable of, panicked, and acted without considering him as a possible ally."

Clark had to reevaluate his impressions of their indisposed guest. That was a really good point. When he listened to the Team recount the incident, the journalist had this stubborn feeling that the unknown wasn't entirely wrong as much as he wanted to dismiss it. In the blond's last moments, the Man of Steel knew that he protected them by diverting the massive energy bomb away.

"He was dangerous for goodness sake!" Zatara interrupted his train of thought.

Captain Atom shook his head in disagreement. "But, that doesn't translate his moral views."

"Indeed." Red spoke up, coinciding with the silver leaguer. "We are unaware of what his true intentions were. However, we cannot neglect the verifiable truth that the unknown did not murder anyone."

Black Canary glared at the red android. "Perhaps 'given the chance' is a better phrase to use."

Red Tornado shifted his attention to her. "You are assuming that his motives were malevolent in the thought that he did not have the opportunity to seize the opening of terminating at least one of the Team members, am I correct?"

Black Canary stayed silent to consider his question for a moment, "Yes."

"Then the appropriate response to your quandary is that you are incorrect to conclude your judgment on suppositions because it can be proven false."

Black Canary's sapphire eyes furrowed. Something was brewing inside her as Clark noticed her gentle palms transformed into agitated fists. "Excuse me?"

"In order to reach a universal viewpoint" Red stated calmly. With a computer for a brain, Clark assumed that the android was trying to calm the elated young heroine before them. "You must look throu—"

"Enough!"

The dark knight stood in between Canary and Tornado. With a commanding voice, he conveyed. "We aren't here to talk about if the unknown was 'right' or 'wrong'. The Justice League will get answers after he awakes. I've gathered all of you so that we can discuss what actions to take with him."

The middle age, mystic expert snorted. "Obviously keep him in the isolated room where he won't be able to hurt anyone."

"Listen to the man!" Captain Atom shouted as he gestured to Zatara. "He's just a kid. You plan to keep him cooped up forever?!"

"If it will keep the Team from harm, then yes," Zatara crossed his arms with a huff.

However, Superman didn't think so. In the back of his mind, the Man of Steel wanted to believe that the kid had to have rational—ethically correct decision to act as he did. If, somehow, Clark was right and they did imprison the boy then it could prove disastrous and morally wrong to everything he stood for. They didn't establish the League in order to make new enemies.

Clark cleared his throat so that everyone could listen in. He didn't want his words to mismanage his actions.

"I think it's better if we can reason with him first. All we've talked about are gathered from speculations. No one in this facility have concrete facts about that kid. I also think Captain Atom is right. Before we decide to destroy bridges, let's keep it standing and see if he crosses." Clark made eye contact with the strict, fatherly leaguer. "Sorry Zatara, but I'm pretty sure he can be reasoned with."

Zatara stared at him incredulously, as if he suggested the dumbest thing in the world, "Reasoned with? Robin mentioned that he doesn't even speak our language!"

"If I may," Martian Manhunter spoke, "In the midst of sorting through his memories, I gave him knowledge of the English language so that I can further comprehend the boy."

The Martian telepathic updated them with vital information. Everyone reclined, Clark noticed that even Batman was taken back.

Black Canary gazed up, "What else did you teach him?!"

"Nothing more, just the language."

"Well done." The dark knight praised him surprisingly. "For one thing, it'll make questioning him a lot smoother."

"So," Captain Atom began hesitantly. There was something in his throat that he couldn't heave out. Though, a second later, he faced his demons and continued. "Who's doing it? Once the kid wakes up, who's gonna go to his room for—"

The silver leaguer paused to close his eyes and lower his chin.

"Well let's all face it. Who's doing the interrogation?"

"I will." Batman volunteered. "Martian Manhunter will be there just in case miscommunication arises. Captain Atom, since you adamantly insist that we tread lightly, you will serve as his support. The boy has to know that there's someone he can turn to in the event that I ask the wrong questions. Of course, as a precaution, Young Justice caretakers will be outside of the room observing."

Black Canary sighed as Clark observed her caving in, "I'll agree to that."

"Then I'll talk to the Team about our plans," the Kryptonian saw Batman turning around and walked back to the direction of the outpost hangar after everyone nodded.

X-X

MORES ISLAND OUTPOST  
October 13, 21:44 EDT

"I can't believe this is happening right now."

Zatanna glanced at the anguished red head that sat on the corner of the room. He was out of his yellow and red armor and into civilian clothing comprised of a red tee shirt with the flash emblem on it, white shorts, and red casual shoes. He was nursing his right medical apparatus with a dejected glimmer in his eyes.

All the member of the team and Zatanna were inside the medical bay of the Mores Island outpost. Gathered from her dad, the facility was built in order to survey naval communications that were active in the Bahamas. Amazingly, Justice League captured several League of Shadows operatives that tried to smuggle weapons into United States soil, through this clever station.

"Well, believe it." To her right, Robin spoke up. The short Young Justice member was also going through his unique brooding that was bizarrely similar to his mentor counterpart. Boy wonder was out of his hero outfit as well, sporting black sunglasses, a red hoodie, black jeans and black sneakers. "We got decimated."

"Kaldur, how're you?" Right next to the sink counter, Artemis voiced her concerns of the Atlantean. She was dressed in a comfortable fashion that consisted of a green tank top, a pair of dark brown caprice, and matching flip flops.

The tattooed, Atlantean clothed in a red tank top and black shorts smiled at the young blond. "Honestly, now I am better."

Robin gave off his own amused grin, "Not putting another tough act, are you?"

Kaldur shook his head ruefully. "Captain Marvel and Black Canary were angry that I did not look towards you for help. I am your leader, but that does not mean that I cannot turn to you for strength. For that, I apologize."

"Dude, water," Wally moved his right-braced arm under his left arm. "Bridge."

"So, seriously, what happened to you guys?" Zatanna was really curious. She heard most of it when Aqualad and Robin reported to Batman and Red Tornado. But, she wanted the uncensored, genuine story. Not the crap they fed to the adults in order to satisfy their needs.

Artemis crossed her arms as she looked away indignantly. "We got our asses handed to us, that's what happened. We were so close in subduing her. I mean," The blond looked towards the dark skinned Atlantean with a tube of liquids injected into him. "Kaldur, you were right there."

Kaldur exhaled a sharp sigh, "I know. I am to blame for such grave errors. If I had chosen better actions, M'gann would not be laying on that bed right now."

"That's not what I'm saying!" Artemis stepped forward abruptly. Her body movements suggested that she didn't mean to convey her words reprehensibly. "M'gann got too cocky. She figured that the sands wouldn't reach her or that she would be able to blast them all away. She couldn't anticipate the sands that snuck behind her."

Wally shot up. His azure eyes stretched to their limits, "WAIT! That's how she got M'gann?!" When Artemis wouldn't meet his gaze, Wally continued. "So, she was brought down because of you? Of course it was you! Who else can colossally mess up other than our local, blond klutz!"

"Dude!" Robin shouted.

Kaldur glared at him, "Wally! Enough!"

"Me?" The blond girl grunted. "You better check where you're pointing your fingers before I decide to give you a finger-brace to match your right arm!"

"Hah! Just try it! I'll just run over to your back since that's the only part of the human anatomy you can't watch! You were there monitoring the perimeter. How did you not see that woman's surprise attack? Were you too busy being the 'star' of the team to pay attention to the enemy?!" Wally sneered. To Zatanna, it seemed that the speedster was taking it too far. Artemis, who was recently introduced to the team a couple of months ago, was trying her best to fit in!

"Like you were any better," The tank top wearing teenager made her way to Wally's bench. She poked his chest to further incite the red head. "At least I didn't get caught by the enemy. He played you out when you thought you had the upper hand. And then, stepped on you like a gigantic worm! How does it feel to be insignificant throughout the whole fight?"

Wally chuckled cockily; it was a sign of accepting her challenge. "It's not that bad. In fact, I can demonstrate on what I meant by stepping on you!"

"Eit meht ot a riahc!"

Zatanna interrupted any possibility of a physical dispute. Two foldable chairs levitated off the ground, situated themselves facing each other in a comfortable gap, and both Wally and Artemis were magnetized to the metallic furniture. "Seriously, you guys? I was just trying to understand the situation. I didn't expect a full-on blow out from you."

They refused to look at each other.

Robin grinned teasingly, "You kidding me? That's the only way to show our love to each other."

The Young Justice team leader exhaled intensely, "I guess it is presided on me to enlighten our sorceress."

The black haired magician returned to her duties of applying ointment on Robin's cuts. She smiled as she prepared herself for Kaldur's information. "Don't worry, I'm a pretty good listener. I have to be in order to get through my dad…"

"Very well, I will start by naming Chelsey Hesh's abilities." He held up his webbed left hand as he named through her capabilities. "She is able to manipulate the desert according to her desires. Uniting her monstrous strength, enhanced vision, cloning abilities, and an energy bombs, she was a force to be reckoned with. As extensive as her powers were, Artemis noticed that her weakness was hand to hand combat."

Artemis gritted her teeth as she added in, "Damn woman didn't know a thing about martial arts. She swung her arms and legs to what she felt were appropriate. That DID—sort of made her difficult to follow at first. But, once you recognize what she's doing, it becomes easier to react to her."

"How did you guys find this out?" Zatanna raised her eyebrow. This was pretty insightful. She didn't know that Artemis had the ability to be this attentive. It sure made her wonder what other beneficial skills the older, blond girl had under her belt.

Artemis glanced at the white ceilings to search for inspiration. "Well, Kaldur took her full attention—we made sure he did. While he had her rolling, I was off to the side studying her. M'gann was also there as a back-up. She intercepted any attacks that went beyond Kaldur's perception."

"That's how you protect someone's six." The forcibly seated red head started up again. The black haired magician wished that he would just shut his trap. She just wanted clarification. She didn't want them to end up fighting again. "You should get some tips from M'gann once she recovers."

"Shut up! I didn't see you do something purposeful out there."

"Hey!" The speedster wriggled to stand up, but thankfully he couldn't. He needed a better concentration to break through the spell. Fortunately, the blond supplied plenty of insults to dish away. "I risked my life to drive his attention away from Conner so that he could stand back."

"Well done." The blond mockingly clapped her hands, "Look at how great your mission success is. Take a hard, long look." Artemis gestured to the resting Kryptonian covered in a hospital gown and bed sheets. The poor guy was breathing rhythmically unaware of the rising situation that occurred next to his bed. The heart monitor that stood beside his railings beeped gracefully as it reported his health.

Zatanna glanced to the other bedridden friend of hers. Even though she was she couldn't communicate at the moment, M'gann's beautiful face peacefully spoke of her condition. Tranquility radiated from her resting figure as she was nestled by three comfortable layers of bed sheets.

The red head scoffed at the blond, "Conner is in this state because he prevented the blond bastard from finishing M'gann off. He rushed out because, again," Wally closed his eyes as he violently tried to shake his way off the chair. "You didn't do your objectives properly!"

"Okay." The boy with sunglasses waved his hand dismissively. "Even though the mission was a complete disaster, try to feel the aster part."

Wally turned to the black haired boy with a frown. "Can you shut the hell up with all this 'aster', 'concerted' crap?! It was a giant catastrophe! We weren't able to apprehend the brunette—who was severely malnourished by the way, we couldn't suppress the situation under mission AoE, AND we have two downed teammates. This wasn't a good day!" Wally tried to shake his way off the metallic furniture that invisibly strapped him down. "So, for the LAST time, zip your mouth."

With a considerable heave, the red head sprung to the soles of his feet. Zatanna was boggled, to say the least. She didn't think he had it in him to collect his strength.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Artemis screamed.

Zatanna stood up with both hands on her hip. If the guy wanted to go again, she had a spell lined up and ready to go. "Yeah, why are you antagonizing everyone?"

The azure eyes of the speedster bore into her. A chill reverberated down her spine as she felt the anger off of him. It ordered her to leave him alone. Without a second thought, she obeyed.

She watched him turn around and exited the room. Zatanna was willing to bet that if the doors didn't slide in and out, Wally would've slammed it shut.

Artemis, though, was a different story. In the span of a few seconds, she wriggled her way off the foldable chair. Rattling her fists demandingly, Artemis darted forward in an effort to bring back the red head to face his challengers. A part of Zatanna wanted her to as well. She had a couple of things to say to the hot head.

But, a webbed palm interrupted Artemis' intention, "Leave him. He will ease once M'gann wakes up."

"Kaldur, I've had it! You know that my patience is thin. He can't just stroll around, hairsplitting every single one of our faults when he was the first one taken out!" Artemis turned around to complain.

Robin blew out an exaggerated sigh. "That's exactly why he's behaving the way he is."

Zatanna blinked. An eyebrow elevated a second later, "What do you mean?"

"He can't face the fact that he was caught by the blond guy and that the only thing he could do to help M'gann was scream at us. For the most part, he's mad at himself that he wasn't powerful enough to save her. Give him time, he'll come around."

"Are you sure?" Artemis questioned the youngest member of the Young Justice.

Robin's lips thinned upwards. "Hey, I'm his best friend. I'm positive."

An audible groan drifted in the atmosphere. They all turned to glance at the yawning Kryptonian that was lying on a medical bed. "If I ever wake up in the middle of drama again," Conner met Robin's gaze. "I give you permission to stab my ears."

"CONNER!"

"Conner!"

"Superboy!"

"SB!"

"Alright, alright, hugging later," Conner tried to push all their engulfing arms away. "How's M'gann?"

"Resting," Robin reported. He stepped aside so that Conner could see the green Martian's sleeping figure. "She stabilized a lot sooner than you did."

Superboy chuckled lightly. "Well, explosions in front of your face tend to do that to you…"

"Superboy! You're awake!"

Zatanna turned around to gaze at the full form of her father. He equipped his very own happy grin as his eyes swept over. "Dad!"

Her dad shifted to her, "Come, Zatanna. We're going home. It's late and you still have school tomorrow." The black haired magician dropped her shoulders as she listened to her dad's demands. Even when her friends were near the clutches of death, her father was more worried about her academics. Her dad snatched his eyes away from hers, "Aqualad, Artemis and Robin, report to the lobby for a meeting. Batman wants you to be there right away."

Nodding, Aqualad lifted a metal stand that held the IV that was attached to his wrist, "Understood."

The blond teenager followed her leader out the door. She was grumbling to herself, although Robin was able to distinguish what she was saying under her breath. In a suite of chuckle, he turned his attention towards Zatanna.

"I guess I'll see you later," she was wrapped in an endearing hug by Robin.

"Soon," She beamed broadly. "I'll see if I can talk my dad into visiting the Cave tomorrow. Good luck."

X-X

WASHINGTON, D.C.  
October 13, 23:16 EDT

It was a blinding light that bear-hugged Martian Manhunter and Superman as they exited the zeta tubes; immediately transporting them to the private room of the Hall of Justice. The room was generously spacious even when there were three sets of inviting furniture, rows of bookshelves and a supercomputer occupied the space. J'onn had to admit that the white painted walls looked a little bit dull. However, the members of the Justice League were never meant to lounge around. This was just a stage shrewdly designed to masquerade the organization's orbiting space station.

As a Martian, J'onn was constituted with a natural affinity for communicating between minds other than sensory perception. As an outstanding telepath, his abilities surpassed normal expectations. He could listen to thoughts, fly, implant knowledge, shift his anatomy density and those around him, camouflage himself, and manipulate objects within his reach. With a variety of skills at his disposal, he had the capability of overpowering organics as well as synthetics.

It's one of the reasons as to why he was so level-headed once he recognized an intruder in the room.

"_Superman,_" He pointed his green index finger to the metallic, sliding passageway. The green Martian couldn't see the person at first, but when he switched his vision to infrared, he was able to perceive the evacuating female figure. To J'onn, that was enough to list her as a potential for suspicion, "_To the door!_"

Before he could blink, the Kryptonian's bulky figure stood in the way. Across his red imprinted S-Shield, two arms intersected. J'onn comprehended that the invisible female was calculating her options after she halted. She seemed distress too; obviously because she was caught red handed.

Because of her natural talent to delude the eye, he couldn't tell if she was exactly human. Through his infrared vision, the green Martian assumed so because of her humanoid shape. However, thousands of species in the galaxy often had similar forms to the Earth natives. Although, J'onn could tell that her mind was exceptionally laboring to block her true form. That was commonly found in the arsenal of dangerous telepaths.

Meta-organisms that they couldn't and wouldn't afford to underestimate.

"I can see you," Superman warned with a frown. Martian Manhunter surmised that he was using his infrared vision as well. "You won't be able to go anywhere. This door is the only way out."

The Man of Steel's sapphire orbs bridged with his ruby eyes. A wave of caution reached him, "_She's female._"

"_It is alright. I can see her too_."Establishing a mental checkpoint was futile. She covered everything he tried to do, "_Although,_ _I cannot enter her mind._"

J'onn could feel Clark shaking his head in disappointment, "_You're out of your game today J'onn, that's twice now_."

This was frustrating him! It was noticeable to all the occupants in the room that she was certainly a contender. "_She is extremely agitated. Aside from that, this one seems to be blocking my telepathic contact._"

"_Well, she hasn't hurt us yet._" At least the Kryptonian leaguer remained hopeful."_Let's just try talking to her, there's no sense in using force when she seems harmless._"

Martian Manhunter visibly nodded understandingly, "_Acknowledged. I will stand as your support._"

Superman covered his mouth with his right fist. Clearing his throat, the blue eyed Kryptonian expressed, "Look, whoever you are, you have the wrong idea about us. We're not here to hurt you. We just want to know what you're doing here and how you managed to enter this room. It's Justice League personnel only."

Yes, he was curious to that answer as well.

Red Tornado, with the slight assistance of Batman and Green Arrow, was able to articulate an attentive security system which could—if it required—supervise even a microscopic bacteria that managed to breach through. How this female was able to elude it interested the green Martian.

"How do I know that you're telling the truth?" It came from their intruder.

"Well, for starters," Superman began with a humorous voice. "If you can't trust me then it means that I must doing a terrible job out there…being a hero and all."

"I'm not a criminal."

"I never said you were…uhhm," The bulky Kryptonian scratched his temples. "Can I have your name?"

"Gypsy."

"Okay. So, may I ask how you got into this room?"

"The door was open."

Superman raised his eyebrow while a frown sprouted. J'onn was sporting the same expression. Who did she think they were? This wasn't amateur hour. "You don't really think we buy that, do you? The security won't allow that to happen, most especially this room in particular."

"How come the Martian won't talk?"

Oh no!

He could sense her agitation. If they continued down this path, a physical altercation was the only destination.

"_J'onn she's on to us._" It seemed that Clark reached similar conclusions. "_If you don't help me calm her down, the situation will get worse. I don't know what she's capable of and I really don't want to fight in here._"

Superman smiled, though cautiously. He raised his palms gently, "Don't worry, he'll talk. We're not doing anything."

"I apologize for my reticent behavior. Your apprehensiveness is unnecessary. Like Superman, I will not harm you." J'onn assured her

"Those are just words. They can be hollow." He grew tensed at her response.

Shoot!

How could they prove that their intentions were peaceful?

"We will allow you to leave, okay? I'm going to step aside and Martian Manhunter will open the door for you." Superman steered clear to let her pass. Meanwhile, J'onn reached for the supercomputer and pressed some buttons. After an audible hiss, the layered door slid to separate itself. But, the green Martian felt that Gypsy was hesitant; until Superman smiled tenderly, "No tricks."

J'onn prepared himself. Clark was baiting her to get closer to him. If anything, in the last moment, Superman would catch her effectively seizing her intentions. There was a slight possibility that her powers derived from a branch of mystic arts, but they had to risk it. They couldn't allow unleashing a security intrusion. They still required answers from her. And if she did carry some sort of criminal intent, the Justice League didn't want someone out there with vital information.

They needed the world to comprehend that the Justice League's shield didn't have cracks.

Internally, the green Martian was stunned.

Superman let her pass through the exit.

He permitted her to walk out. Superman actually allowed her to vacate the building. There wasn't an ounce of nervousness in his systems as well. To his contrary, the bulky Kryptonian preserved his composure. His sapphire orbs were transfixed at the direction of her invisible figure.

A drawling sigh tunneled out of his mouth.

"Would you like me to search for her?" Martian Manhunter whispered. He only voiced his thoughts once she was out of reach.

Superman inclined his head with concern, "Yeah. Bring GA with you. He's better at letting people open up to him. He'll be perfect for this assignment. Find out why she broke into Justice League systems and how she got through security."

X-X

"It enrages me to see you once again, fox."

Emerging from the shadows was a woman with delicate features. She had an extremely long, sweeping light colored hair that trailed her path. In the middle of her cascading locks were two horn-like protrusions. She had similar irises he had studied from Hyuuga's which probably foretold him of her Byakugan. Her light colored eyebrows were cut shortly—it translated her nobility. She adorned her appearance with a dark shade of lipstick and matching nail polish. She was wearing a high-collared hime-kimono which was decked with intricate lines and tomoes running down the center and edges of her gown.

Chelsey Hesh accompanied her; walking beside and ending a few centimeters past. She was wearing the same clothing as she had on the physical realm: a light colored tee shirt, a pair of shorts and casual footwear. Moreover, her skin was refreshed and her umber hair glowed with life; a definite sign of his and Kaguya's combined regenerative properties.

Kurama was inside a colossal replication of the water prison technique Mist Shinobis often employed. Here, the water jailing him, he was not able to touch his containers. Rolling his eyes, it seemed that the universe always found a way to rob his freedom. However, that didn't matter. The blond idiot was out there, somewhere.

And, Naruto wouldn't allow such a thing to happen to his friend.

So, Kurama had to wait.

He was patient anyways. A couple more months of imprisonment didn't matter to him.

"Princess Kaguya." He smoothly closed his crimson slits as he lowered his jaw in acknowledgement. "I do apologize if I made a mistake. This is my first time bowing to a whore."

"You inherited Hagoromo's quirks." A frown graced her elegant features, "How vexatious."

Kurama a boom of chuckles descended them, "Indeed. While it originated from him, my aggravating mannerism matured under the influences of my hosts."

"Then this is the time for jubilation. Under Chelsey's care, you will prompt towards an urbane character. Your savagery will be eradicated and you will obey, even to our simplest instructions." The rabbit goddess interlaced her fingers behind her back. Although she projected an impression of gracefulness, a menacing tundra reverberated around the host's mindscape.

Kurama rolled his crimson slits, "I rather doubt it."

"I assure you. In time, you will." The rabbit goddess narrowed her lavender orbs. "It is for you to decide whether that is now or later. Until such decisions are finalize, torment will be your greatest companion."

Hesh rested her index finger on her chin. Rounding a portion of her lip upwards, she expressed her thoughts. "So, this is Naruto's power? I expected it differently. I didn't know that it could communicate."

The brunette's right hand entered the surface of the water. She tried to touch his majestic crimson fur, but a row of gigantic, feral teeth clamped on her grabby anatomy. With a considerable yelp, she retrieved her arm back; though she lost her hand. Seconds later, however, a skeletal version of her hand formed. Then, the muscles attached around it, comfortably burying it under a layer of skin. Kurama remained astonished as it grew back amazingly.

Kurama grinned, "Mind your distance, kleptomaniac. I bite."

All he received in return was the brunette puffing her cheeks irritatingly and crossing her arms under her noteworthy bosom.

Kaguya shook her head at Hesh's antics. "It is beyond a doubt that the separated energies of the Shinju are sentient. Hagoromo has designed it this way, in order to bring balance to the world that we hail from. At least, he tried to. Humans, as you understand, wield destructive tendencies."

"Who's Hagoromo," The brunette turned to her companion; clearly she was looking for a response. "It's such a weird name."

"My son."

Kurama raised a questioning brow, "Hail from? What do you mean?"

"You are uninformed," An arrogant chuckle escaped her mouth. "This surprises me, fox. Endowed with a few centuries worth of experience, yet you were unable to distinguish this foreign dimension."

Off to her right, the brunette light skinned woman beamed widely. She turned to make eye contact with the colossal beast. "It's okay! I can help you with that. From what Kaguya says, this world is actually—"

"Chelsey, silence," The rabbit goddess instructed abruptly. "The fox's limited knowledge will cater to our advantage. We must hold our dominance. A single error could extirpate our ascendancy. Until our numbers surmount, we cannot permit that to transpire."

"Oh, I'm sorry." She lightly tapped her mouth apologetically.

"Do not express remorse to me. I am your guide. I will lead you to success, if you place your trust in me."

"Of course," Hesh exclaimed. She gestured her hands in a soothing manner. "You've shown me a new way to live…opened my eyes. Never in my life did I believe that I could wield these powers." She clenched and unclenched her palms, "But you made it happen! So, I'll listen to whatever you say!"

This was dangerous. Probably in the space of a few moments, Kaguya was able to indoctrinate the brunette to be her little pawn. Absent of any physical means, the rabbit goddess was at the mercy of Chelsey Hesh. Though the brunette didn't notice it, she could've turned the tables against the elegant woman, taken more power and definitely asserted more sovereignty. But, that's not what transpired. Kurama had to commend Kaguya for her manipulative talents.

In all honesty, he was a little bit envious.

"Ehehehehehehe," His crimson claw clutched his sides, "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

He garnered their attention.

Mockingly wiping a tear, Kurama began to plant seeds, "I hope you obtain an excellent sense of perceptiveness, thief. Her tongue is quite ambidextrous."

X-X

MORES ISLAND OUTPOST  
October 13, 23:30 EDT

Bruce stood in the middle of the lobby. Verdigris colored furniture embellished the comfortable room that was snuggled in between the hallway to the medical wing, the station hangar, and the kitchen area. As the participants flooded in, the billionaire accounted for all of the bodies that were present. He began to his right. His eyes perched on the Young Justice speedster, Kid Flash who stood in front of the hangar doorway. Black Canary and Captain Atom were behind the green sofas that occupied the middle of the room. Aqualad, Artemis and Robin were seated on the couches. Red Tornado was passing out papers, and then positioned himself directly to the Batman's left.

When everything was prepared, the billionaire articulated, "Several Justice League members have taken the unknown male into consideration. We surmised that it is within the organization's best interest to recognize the boy as a valuable asset for his performance against the Team and Chelsey Hesh. Since you failed to institute simple communication grounds, it is up to key Justice League members such as Martian Manhunter, Captain Atom and I to salvage any efforts of conciliating the unknown."

Batman received dirty looks from Captain Atom and Black Canary. It was probably how he worded his sentences. But, that was the truth. The kids had to face it.

Kid Flash leveled himself as an angry look projected forward, "Wait you're BLAMING us for Hesh's escape, and at the same time, rewarding him in his 'efforts' in bringing down M'gann?!"

Captain Atom crossed his silver arms and raised an eye at the red head's intrusive cries. "I thought Chelsey Hesh injured Miss Martian?"

"She did!" Artemis blurted. Her hand gestures illustrated that she tried to appease the authoritative presence around her. "Kid Finger-pointer over just can't accep—"

Bruce's protégé covered her mouth, completely halting her expressed thoughts.

"Chelsey Hesh did, in fact, wound Miss Martian. Kid Flash is just discombobulated about the whole circumstance. Surely, he did not mean to question your assessment, Batman." Aqualad finished the young archer's thinking.

Kid Flash blew a puff of irritated air out of his system as he intersected his arms across his chest. He tore his sapphire orbs away from the meeting, "Whatever."

Bruce didn't have time for this! He could be out patrolling Gotham right now. High school drama was eons ago. Its tentacles shouldn't even reach him at this point in his life.

Batman glared, "Moving forward. Both the Young Justice Team and caretakers will be delegated on guard duty until the unknown awakens. For smoother shifts, I've organized the teams in groups of three: one Justice League member with two Young Justice Operatives."

"Who'll be placed with whom?" Artemis questioned curiously.

"I was about to get to that."

Artemis lowered her head, "…sorry."

Bruce sighed after he was finally given the chance to continue. "The first team will be Red Tornado, Aqualad and Kid Flash. The second team will be Black Canary, Artemis and Miss Martian. The third team will be Zatara, Robin and Superboy. Call signs have been written on the paper. I want you to review it precisely. We cannot allow further mistakes. Shifts are based on chronological order. So, the first team will stay here tonight."

He received dark looks from the other leaguers again.

"Wait," Robin spoke up. "We have school tomorrow. Do you expect us to skip classes?"

To his right, the blond archer beamed ecstatically, "This is a pretty sweet assignment. Just observe the sleeping blond boy AND we don't have to show up for school. It's not all that bad."

In the corner, the owner of Wayne Industries saw the red headed teen sneer at the young, seated blond.

"No," the dark knight shook his head insistently. "You'll still go to school. While the Team is away for academics and other emergencies, A few Justice League members will take your place until your return."

"What about M'gann and Conner? They haven't recovered yet." The concern came from the platinum blonde dressed in dark clothing.

"Actually," the youngest member of the Young Justice responded. "Conner just woke up a few minutes ago."

Captain Atom smiled as Black Canary breathed out a relieving, fresh air. Bruce was also soothed, though internally. He was standing before comrades and was delegating tasks, he reminded himself. There was a time to relax later.

The dark knight glanced at the tattooed Atlantean, "I expect you to relay assignment objectives to Superboy. For the meantime, I'll take over for Miss Martian until she is ready."

Aqualad nodded his head comprehendingly. "What actions do we take once the unknown awakens?"

"Report to key Justice League members like Captain Atom, Martian Manhunter, myself, Black Canary, Red Tornado, or Zatara and we'll relay the message." He garnered the attention of all the occupants in the lobby. This one was crucial, "It is important that the unknown does not leave the isolation room. Enclose him there until we arrive. He'll understand English, Martian Manhunter implanted the language. Furthermore, avoid resorting to force. We don't want to intimidate him. Does everyone understand?"

Everyone inclined their head uniformly to illustrate their comprehension.

"Good," Batman closed the mission briefing. "You're dismissed."

* * *

**[A/N]** Hopefully you like this update. As you can tell, I'm easing off. There's no need to pick up the pace of the story. Knowing tiny details are what makes such a fun story too. Also, I would like to say thanks to those that reviewed! It definitely made me happy that the fourth chapter was interesting enough to incite some sort of expression from you all. **Those of you that reviewed, messaged me, and overall voiced your criticism, a special thanks to you!** Without you pointing out the little things, I would've never caught them. It makes me a better author which enhances this story.

X-X

**(Eit meht ot a riahc) "Tie them to a chair!"** Supplementary spell. Restricts victims into a sitting position. Though it immobilizes the victims, they can still speak. With a considerable strength and focused mind, the victims are able to break the spell.

X-X

**TrenchcoatMan:** Sorry to burst your bubble, dude. I'm referring to your "instant-English treatment", by the way.

My schedule is still the same, unfortunately; two-three weeks from now. I recently discovered that being an intern isn't really what its cracked up to be. Oh well...life. What're you gonna do?


End file.
